The Blame Game
by Ultrawoman
Summary: Starts in 2.19 Teach Me Tonight. When the car crash happens differently, with wholly different consequences, it causes Rory & Jess to make different choices in their relationships and changes how they both move forward. It also alters things for Luke & Lorelai too. Literati.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, the results of the poll put two fics at the top with just one vote between them, and honestly? They were the two I was most excited to write, so yay! The other story had just one more vote than this one but the muses go where the muses go, and I rewatched Teach Me Tonight very recently so, yeah, you're getting this one for now, but 'Home Is Where You Are' is in the works too... kinda. I hope you'll be happy with this fic for now. Please let me know in a review! :)**

_**Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other folks that aren't me. Some dialogue in Chapter 1 borrowed from 'Teach Me Tonight', written by Amy Sherman-Palladino.**_

Chapter 1

"You're such an amateur eater!"

Rory Gilmore was laughing and blushing at the same time as she finished off her ice-cream and noted Jess was hardly half way through his own cone.

"Hey, I'm sorry I don't eat like you," he smirked. "I swear, the Gilmore DNA is a whole other world."

"All about the metabolism, baby."

"Really? _Baby_?"

Rory blushed all the more when she realised what she had said and to whom.

"My Mom says it," she muttered, unlocking the car and climbing into the driver's side. "Anyway, if I drive we know we'll get back to the diner in good time, no dallying, and you can get on with your studying, like you promised," she told Jess as he joined her in the car.

"Yeah, I guess I did promise," he sighed, trying to make the most of his ice-cream while he had the chance.

Studying was not his favourite pass time, not by a long shot. Of course, any time spent with Rory was a bonus, so he'd do it, if only to please her. Then there was Luke. Honestly, his uncle was being pretty decent to him so far, and Jess figured he could stand to be a semi-good student for his sake too.

"Why are you so down on school anyway?" asked Rory as they headed back to the diner through the darkened streets of good old Stars Hollow. "It's not as if you're dumb. You might be the smartest guy I ever met, you certainly read enough, so what's the problem? Is it like a cool thing?"

"I couldn't care less about being cool," Jess rolled his eyes, swallowing his final mouthful of wafer cone before he said anymore. "I just know I'm never going to college, so why waste the time in high school?"

"And why aren't you going to college?"

"Ask my mother," he said bitterly, "she could give you a couple reasons. Oh, and I'm sure Principal Mertin can chime in with a few good ones. In fact, ask _your_ mother. She doesn't know me all that well but I'm sure she could improvise a few things"

"Do not give me that whole 'I'm so misunderstood, Kurt Cobainy' thing," Rory sighed, sparing him a brief glance. "You are way stronger than that and I don't even wanna hear it. You have to go to college."

Rory hated it when Jess continued to be so down on himself, but she didn't say a word. It wasn't as if he was stupid, he could do so much with his life, but Jess seemed happy just to drift, to make no plans and go wherever life took him. She wanted him to want more because she did, and because he was capable of it. He must've known she was going to counter all his arguments eventually, which is why he turned things around on her, asking where she saw her own future headed after Chilton and Harvard.

"I'm gonna be a journalist," she said with a grin she couldn't help, eyes firmly on the road as she made the next turn.

"Paula Zahn?"

"Christiane Amanpour," she confirmed.

"You're gonna be an overseas correspondent?"

Rory was unable to help looking at Jess a moment when she heard the surprise in his voice. She didn't like that it hurt, even a little bit, but it did. He didn't think she could do it, and that bothered her. It made her wonder if he was right, and self-doubt was the enemy.

"Hey, I didn't mean to freak you out. I'm sorry," he apologised the second he realised what he'd done. "I'm sure you'll do it. You will, I promise."

His hand landed gently on her arm, making everything inside of Rory tense up and relax at the same time. It was the weirdest feeling and yet she kind of liked it somehow. It was almost a shame when his fingers slid away. Rory forced herself to concentrate on driving. That was the important thing, they had to get back to the diner. Jess needed to study, not because he wasn't smart but because he needed to buckle down and learn something already.

The radio started another song, and a smile came to Rory's lips unbidden when she realised it was The Clash singing. Not 'Guns of Brixton' as she and Jess had been discussing back at Luke's but still, it was kind of coincidental. She glanced his way a moment and saw that smile that never failed in making her insides turn it mush. Times like these she seemed to forget that she was even dating Dean Forester. The forgetting made her remember, which made no sense, but it did. The guilt came as Rory forced her eyes back onto the road ahead. It was dark, she should concentrate, even as her head bobbed along to 'I Fought The Law' and she swore she heard Jess humming the tune. They liked so many of the same things, music and books and movies. It was nice to have another friend she could share all that stuff with.

"Jess..." she began, not even really sure what she was going to say anyway.

She looked over at him and saw panic spread across his face.

"Rory!" he yelled, pointing out into the road.

Her head whipped around to see... but it was too late.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Oh, Rory, great," Lorelai smiled widely at her daughter's voice on the line. "Tell me, was it the China Ball, the China Doll, or the China Wall that had the really good shrimp balls?"

She was rearranging the take out drawer and was entirely proud of herself for weeding out the crappy restaurants and marking up the menus of the good ones with smiley face stickers on the best dishes. Maybe it would be a task better shared with her baby girl, but it was going pretty well solo actually.

"Mom, I need you to be calm."

That wasn't an answer to her question, and the request immediately put Lorelai on high alert. She dropped the menus she'd been holding and took a breath.

"Calm about what?"

"Calm about what I have to tell you," said Rory shakily. "I'm okay, but... well, I got in an accident."

"What? What accident? What do you mean you got in an accident?" asked Lorelai, trying her best not to hyperventilate, but failing badly in her attempts.

"Jess and I went for ice cream," Rory explained, "and we were just driving and it was dark and this dog or cat or possum, I don't know, but it was small and furry, and it ran out into the middle of the road, so I swerved and..."

"You swerved and what?" her mother checked, all of a flurry. "Rory, are you okay? Where are you?"

"We're at the hospital, and I'm fine" she confirmed, "but Jess... Oh Mom, they won't tell me what's going on and when they brought us in he wasn't even awake."

Tears crept into her voice, and Lorelai couldn't stand it. She was no fan of Jess, that was for sure, but the kid wasn't even awake after a car accident? That wasn't good, not at all.

"Oh, God!" she gasped. "Um, is Luke there? Does he know what happened?" she asked, trying not to panic because that wouldn't help Rory.

"I don't know," her daughter started to full on cry. "I'm so scared, Mom."

"Okay. Okay, I'll be right there," she promised. "Hold on, sweetheart."

* * *

Luke started at the sound of crazy banging on the diner door. He had only been home a few minutes to find the diner locked and the kids gone. He figured Rory and Jess had just taken a break or maybe gone over to the Gilmore house for some reason. He wasn't worried, not until he turned around and found Lorelai on the other side of the door looking completely freaked out.

"Hey, what is going on?" he asked as he unlocked and let her inside.

"Luke, come on, we have to get to the hospital," she told him quickly, tears in her eyes as she literally grabbed at his arm and pulled.

"The hospital?" he checked, completely baffled by this whole situation. "What? Why? What happened?"

"There was an accident!" Lorelai told him too loudly, clearly just this side of hysterical. "Rory and Jess went out in her car. They swerved for something and crashed, they're at the hospital!"

"Oh geez, no!" Luke gasped, stopping a moment to let the news sink in.

A second later he was fishing his keys out of his pocket and all but running to the truck with Lorelai hot on his heels. They were inside the vehicle and speeding off down the street, leaving rubber in their wake inside of a minute. Luke never broke speed limits or drove in any way erratically, but to hell with the rules of the road right now. Two of the most important people in his life were in the hospital, and he was going to get there as fast as he could.

"Do we know if they're okay?" he asked Lorelai as he drove.

"Rory is fine, she called me and I came straight over to you," she explained, struggling to speak as emotion filled her throat. "Jess is... She doesn't know much, because she's not family and they won't tell her. I'm guessing they tried to call you but you were still out."

"I literally got in five minutes before you got to the diner," he agreed, feeling numb. "So, it's bad, right? If Rory needs a doctor to tell her things, if Jess can't tell her for himself..."

He glanced over at Lorelai who could only bite her lip and shake her head. She didn't know what to say. There was relief coursing through her that her own daughter seemed fine, but at the same time such a terrible mixture of guilt and fear for Luke's nephew. It was no secret that she never particular cared for Jess Mariano, but she hated the idea that he might be seriously hurt, for Luke's sake, and for Rory's too. They cared for this guy, and on a human being level, Lorelai cared too. As easy as it was to want to kick the ass of a person you didn't much like, wishing real physical damage on someone, that would just be wrong. It might be worse than they thought. If Jess wasn't even awake, if he died... Lorelai wanted to be sick. She couldn't imagine how Luke was feeling. He looked so stoic and calm, but inside he had to be freaking out just as much as she was.

They arrived at the hospital in record time. Lorelai was out of the truck before it hardly stopped moving and Luke was barely a second behind her. They rushed into the building and up to the reception desk where an unwilling nurse didn't seem to want to be massively helpful.

"Hey, do you remember in Terms of Endearment, that scene where Shirley MacLaine is in the hospital and freaks out because they won't give her daughter a shot? Yeah, well, she got that from me and she toned it down a little. So, once again, I'm looking for my daughter, Rory Gilmore, and his nephew, Jess Mariano," she said snippily as Luke hovered by her side.

The nurse started to consult her clipboard, but needn't have bothered. Just as soon as Lorelai heard 'Mom?' in the most familiar voice, she rushed to Rory, her crying daughter meeting her half way across the waiting area.

"Oh, sweetheart!" Lorelai gasped at the sight of a baby, looking mercifully unscathed.

"I'm fine, I swear, they checked me over, and I'm fine," she said definitely, shaking her head. "Luke, I'm so sorry," she said then looking up at her friend. "I don't know what happened, and Jess... I'm just so sorry!"

He hugged her when she started to cry, a strange moment for both of them but it felt like the most natural thing in the world right now. When a doctor appeared a second later, looking grim faced and way too serious, Lorelai, Rory, and Luke all knew he was looking for them.

"Are you the family of Jess Mariano?"

"That would be us," Luke semi-lied, after all, there was nobody closer to him in this world than the Gilmore girls these days.

"I'm afraid not all the news is positive..."

_To Be Continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I used to update my stories in some kind of order... Ah well.**

**To everyone that reviewed - you're wonderful people!**

**On we go...**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 2

Luke felt genuinely nauseous as he walked into the hospital room and saw his nephew lying in the bed, completely still. Maybe some would make the mistake of thinking Jess was simply sleeping, but his uncle knew better. The kid was never still and quiet like this. He shifted around a lot in his sleep, sometimes snored, often spoke to people unseen, but he was never, ever this quiet and still. It was unnatural and horrifying for Luke to see.

"Oh, Jess," he sighed, running a hand over his face.

Rory stepped in through the swing door beside him and gasped at the sight that met her eyes. Not knowing was bad, or so she thought, but now seeing the state of Jess... she wondered if anything could have felt worse. She did this, that was maybe the worst part for Rory. It would have been bad enough if Jess got himself into an accident or if somebody else was to blame. It was doubly vomit-inducing to realise that this guy, her friend, was lying in a hospital bed unconscious because of her.

"Oh my God!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.

Rory was stuck to the spot, even when Luke went further into the room, she just couldn't move her feet. Getting closer made it all the more real, and that she couldn't stand. In her mind she heard the doctor's voice again, repeating words he had said in the reception area. He had looked so serious and grim as he said there was bad news. There had been good news too. As far as outside damage went, Jess had only a hairline fracture to the wrist and a small cut on his forehead. Unfortunately if was the head wound that was causing other issues, or at least it could.

"_Until Jess wakes up, it's very hard to tell what damage might have been done. We can run certain tests with him unconscious but not everything is accountable for with him in this state."_

It just kept going around and around in Rory's head _'not everything is accountable for'. _That and the lyrics to 'I Fought The Law', which she was pretty sure she would never be able to listen to again without feeling genuinely ill.

"I did this," she said aloud without really meaning to.

"Rory," Luke shook his head, coming over to take her hand in his own. "You cannot blame yourself, okay?" he told her definitely. "It was an accident. Nobody blames you. Jess won't blame you," he insisted.

Rory wanted to believe that, she really did, but it wasn't so easy. She moved more out of momentum than anything else as Luke walked back towards the bed, still with her hand in his own. It was strange how normal Jess looked. His arm had been set and was lying outside of the covers. There was a bandage on his head, but if she just concentrated on the middle part of his face, where his sparkling eyes should be shining, where his lips should be smirking like they so often did, he was just sleeping, and that was okay. It should be okay, but it wasn't.

"Er, hey, Jess," said Luke awkwardly then. "I know the doctors say people who are unconscious can hear or whatever, so maybe you can, or maybe I'm just making an idiot of myself" he shrugged, feeling so dumb. "Well, if you can hear me, I'm here, Jess. I'm here and Rory's here. She's fine, by the way, so don't worry about that."

It was all supposed to be comforting and maybe if Jess could hear him it would be. For Rory it was torturous to be reminded that she was okay, when he was so completely not. Her hand slipped out of Luke's grasp as she bolted to the door.

Lorelai caught sight of a flash of blue jacket and brown hair as it dove into the women's restroom. She gave chase.

"Rory?" she called, but the only response she received for a great heaving noise and the familiar sounds of a person being spectacularly sick.

Lorelai winced and hovered outside of the stall until her baby was done throwing up. She figured it was more the shock of things than anything else, but that didn't mean a doctor wasn't going to be told that Rory just lost her lunch all over the bathroom. It could be something serious and that needed checking... twice.

The toilet flushed and Rory appeared, looking equal parts pale and tear-stained as she lurched towards the sink to wash her hands.

"Oh, honey," Lorelai hugged her close a moment later, still unable to get over the shock of this evenings events, as well as the blessed relief that Rory hadn't been more badly hurt.

"I'm a horrible person," she cried into her Mom's shoulder. "I'm just horrible, horrible..."

"Rory, no," said Lorelai definitely, pushing her daughter out to arms length, braced at the shoulders so she could meet her eyes. "You are not horrible, not even close."

"Go see Jess and then tell me that again," she sniffed hard. "Mom, he's so... his head, and his arm... I can't..."

"I know it's not great for Jess right now, but he's tough. He'll come through this, I'm sure he will, and he's not going to blame you for what happened."

"You don't know that."

"No, I don't know that, not in the one-hundred-percent certain, predict the future like Nostradamus kind of a way," Lorelai admitted then. "But I'm pretty darn sure, okay?"

Rory nodded vaguely, but was soon back in mother's arms, just crying her heart out. Lorelai just held her tight and allowed her baby to let it all out. It was bad, they knew that. The car was a right off, things could have been so much worse, but it really had been an accident, Lorelai believed that. Rory was a good driver, a careful and safe person in everything she did. That didn't mean Jess wasn't suffering the consequences of actions taken tonight, even if no harm was meant.

Lorelai couldn't imagine what Luke was feeling right now. There was no way to pretend that she cared anything much for Jess, but he didn't deserve this, not broken and bruised in a hospital bed with some possible and unknown head injury. That was not in any way good. On top of that, Luke had to be freaking out. Not on the outside of course, that almost never happened, but inside, his heart had to be breaking, just as Rory's seemed to be. She felt so much guilt, and Lorelai didn't doubt that in her position, she was sure she'd be feeling pretty crappy herself, and Rory was twice the person Lorelai had ever been.

Of course, things could turn out okay yet. Jess could wake up in the next few hours, the doctors could run their tests, and he'd get the all clear. Everybody would go home happy and healthy, no problem at all. Unfortunately, Lorelai knew there was a flip-side where things were not so bright and sunny.

It was only two visitors per patient at a time, so Lorelai had stayed out in the hall when Luke and Rory went into see Jess. She felt compelled to ask the doctor what the worst case scenario might be, though she immediately wished she hadn't. Bumps to the head were tricky, and the kind that left a person unconscious this way were all the worse. Everything and anything was possible, all the best and worst outcomes filled her head, even as she held Rory in her arms and all but promised her things would turn out okay. She didn't know that for sure, there were no guarantees, but damn, she was going to start hoping, praying, getting down on her knees and begging for a miracle if necessary. The happiness of too many was dependant on Jess Mariano right now, and he didn't even know it.

* * *

The radio started another song, and a smile came to Rory's lips unbidden when she realised it was The Clash singing. Not Guns of Brixton as she and Jess had been discussing back at Luke's but still, it was kind of coincidental. She glanced his way a moment and saw that smile that never failed in making her insides turn to mush.

It was dark, she should concentrate, even as her head bobbed along to 'I Fought The Law' and she swore she heard Jess humming the tune. They liked so many of the same things, music and books and movies. It was nice to have another friend she could share all that stuff with.

"Jess..." she began, not even really sure what she was going to say anyway.

She looked over to the passenger side but he was gone.

"Rory!" his voice yelled from outside of the car.

Her head whipped around to see... but it was too late. Jess was in her path, and there just wasn't any way to avoid him. Instinct made her pull on the wheel, swerving violently to the right, but somehow she still hit him before running into a pole in what felt like slow-motion and break-neck speed all at the same time.

Rory's eyes were closed at the moment of impact, but she heard an sickening thud that made her wince.

She woke up screaming.

"Rory! Rory, honey, what's wrong?" asked Lorelai as she came bolting into the room. "Rory!" she yelled into her face, grabbing a hold of the arms that were flailing around wildly.

Meeting her mother's eyes seemed to bring her right back to reality with a terrible bump. Clinging to Lorelai, Rory tried to calm her breathing even as new tears streamed down her cheeks. She didn't think she could cry anymore after the hospital. They got home, went to bed in some vain attempt to get some rest, and Rory had felt numb. Then the dreams came, the nightmare version of what really happened in the car crash last night. She didn't think anything could have been worse than the reality, and yet feeling the impact of the car against Jess' body was worse. She would throw up again if she had anything left to give.

"Is she okay?" asked a voice from the door.

Rory was amazed to glance up and see Dean framed in her bedroom doorway.

"I think so. Just a crazy nightmare, I'm guessing" said Lorelai, smoothing her baby's hair. "Rory?"

"I'm okay," she nodded slowly, even though she didn't feel at all okay in actuality, she was just going to have to try. "Um, what time is it?"

"A little after eleven a.m.," her mother confirmed, turning to gesture for Dean to come right in. "We were just letting you get as much sleep as you could. Dean heard what happened, he came right over."

"Hey," he greeted his girlfriend, looking concerned.

He didn't know what to say to her, and Rory understood that. There really wasn't anything anybody could say when you thought about it. In essence she was fine, she required no sympathy because she had no injuries to speak of, only mental scars from shock and worry. She was the guilty one in all of this, wrote off a car, put a guy in the hospital. She swallowed hard before she could find her voice.

"I'm sorry," she told Dean. "The car is..."

"I know," he replied awkwardly. "It's okay. I don't care about the car, just so long as you're okay."

Lorelai got up and Dean took her place on the edge of the bed. They needed to talk, she knew that. It might do Rory some good to have someone other than her mother to cling to, and a little of her guilt could be exorcised if Dean proved he wasn't even a little bit mad about the car at least. It wouldn't help the Jess situation, but Lorelai doubted even Dean could be mad at that guy right now, given the circumstances.

"It was horrible," Rory was saying as Lorelai pulled the door almost closed and wandered away. "Dean, I just, I don't know what happened. One minute I was driving and then..."

"It's okay," he assured her, putting a gentle hand to her face. "Accidents happen, it wasn't your fault."

"That's easy to say, but it is my fault," she insisted. "I was driving, I was supposed to be in control, and now Jess is... They don't even know what's wrong yet, when he'll wake up, _if_ he'll wake up."

"Trust me, Rory, guys like him, they bounce back. They always bounce back," he sighed, looking as if he was fighting an eye roll or similar.

Rory was struck by that and not in a good way.

"You make it sound like you wish he wouldn't," she said, in clear shock that he would be that way.

Sure, it was true enough that Jess had gone out of his way to bug Dean before now, and there was definitely no love lost between them. That didn't mean it was okay for Dean to think it didn't matter if Jess lived or died. Her boyfriend wasn't supposed to be that flippant, that uncaring. Rory was sure he was never that way before.

"Rory, I don't... I don't suddenly love Jess just because he's in the hospital," he explained, looking away, almost guiltily but not quite as much as maybe he should be. "Of course, I don't want him to die, but I'm way more worried about you than I am about him. You shouldn't blame yourself."

"Then who do we blame?" she asked crossly, ripping her hand away when he tried to hold onto it. "Don't even try and say this was all Jess' fault. I was driving and he got hurt."

"Yeah, but why were you driving? Why were you even with him, Rory?" asked Dean then, sounding almost as annoyed as Rory felt.

She couldn't believe it. Under any other circumstances, she could accept his petty jealousy, she wouldn't be thrilled about it, but she tried to understand. Right now it was just wrong. She didn't have to take this from him and Rory wouldn't either. There was too much going on to deal with this junk from Dean.

"Get out," she said, turning away.

"Rory..." he began, but she wouldn't hear it.

"You heard me! Get out!" she repeated more loudly. "Come back when you want to be Dean and not some jerk that can't get past the fact I have a male friend!" she said forcefully. "Think about it, just take a second and think of Jess in a hospital bed, think of Luke sitting by that bed worried sick. Just try to imagine for a second how I'm feeling with that picture on replay in my head, and the only time I can push it away is when I'm picturing the car crashing into the pole, and the ambulance, and the blood..."

Her hand clamped over her mouth as she felt another bout of hysterical tears coming on. Rory just needed him to leave and Dean knew it. He wasn't helping her, and so he left quickly, just like she asked. He mumbled an apology at the door, but Rory barely heard. All she could do was cry into her pillow and think of Jess, hoping against hope that maybe he was awake by now, maybe everything was okay. She hoped, but she didn't really believe.

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Did I mention that for the first part of the story this one ain't going to be so cheery? Trust me, the pain and suffering will be worth it in the end but for now we're just going to have to go with it - sorry! Thank you so much to those that have reviewed so far - you're awesome! Please keep that feedback coming :)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 3

Luke was trying to think of things to say. It didn't come easy. He wasn't exactly much of a talker at the best of times, and though he and Jess were capable of having a conversation when needed, neither were really all that chatty as a rule. The fact that Luke was guaranteed not to get even so much as a 'huh' out of his nephew right now just made it all the tougher to come up with anything worth saying.

"Jess, would you please just wake up?" he said pointlessly, knowing that for once the kid definitely would if he could.

This wasn't sleeping in late, not wanting to go to school or something. This was serious. Hospitals were never fun places to be in Luke's experience. Sitting by the bedside of an unconscious patient was bad enough, but when said patient was so young and everything about his current state so uncertain, it was all the worse. There was simply nothing Luke could do right now, except to sit here and try to talk in the vain hope he could be heard.

Serious consideration had been given to calling Liz. In the end Luke decided against doing anything rash and causing a panic. Jess could wake up any minute, the doctors could run their tests, and he'd be declared just a little concussed but ultimately fine. Luke had a concussion once, it wasn't always that big of a deal. Of course, he'd blacked out for a few seconds, whilst Jess had been in this state for almost twenty four hours now. They were fast headed into coma territory, Luke knew, and just thinking it made him shudder from head to foot. No, he couldn't call Liz yet, not while there was still a chance he'd be upsetting her for nothing.

"Hey," said a voice.

Luke knew who it was long before he turned to see Lorelai framed in the doorway. The sight of her brought on a smile, albeit it a vague one. Now didn't seem like the time for big grins, not at all. He and Lorelai hadn't really talked much since they got the news on Jess from the doctor last night. Luke had been sat here almost every second since then, only leaving when he really had to get a drink or visit the bathroom. He was a mess, but he hadn't noticed at all, Lorelai knew.

"Any change?" she asked as she pulled up a chair beside his own.

"Nope, nothing," Luke replied, with a sigh.

Lorelai didn't really know what to say. That didn't happen to her often, but then it was thankfully a rare occurrence that someone she knew was in the hospital in such a bad way. She couldn't help but be reminded of an event last year, when her own father suffered a heart attack. Luke had sat beside her then, holding her hand, telling her everything would be okay. She wanted to pay that back, but Lorelai wasn't like Luke, not enough to know what to say for the best anyway.

"I'm sorry," came spilling out a moment later, her hand landing on his arm.

Honestly, neither of them were sure exactly what she meant by it. Sorry that this had happened to Jess. Sorry for anything bad she had said about him. Sorry that Luke was having to suffer. Maybe just sorry that she had no idea what else to say. It didn't matter, it was the thought that counted.

"Thanks," he replied, patting her hand at his elbow. "How's Rory?"

"She's fine," Lorelai nodded. "Well, not exactly fine, pretty shaken up still, but not..." she looked towards the bed and winced.

Not as bad a Jess. That was what she was going to say, tactful as ever. She cleared her throat and continued in a different vein.

"Rory was still trying to sleep it all off. I asked Babette to sit in for a while so I could come check on you," she explained. "I knew you wouldn't have eaten or even moved since last night" she said with a look that Luke could feel before he ever turned to meet her eyes. "You have to take care of yourself too, Luke," she reminded him. "Otherwise, when Jess does wake up, he'll just end up sat at your bedside whilst you recover from being a stubborn ass," she said bluntly.

Luke smiled at the phrasing but only for a second.

"I can't leave him, Lorelai," he shook his head, looking back at Jess' too still form, the slight rise and fall of his chest the only evidence he was even living right now. "All his life, he's been dumped on, pushed out. It's why he is the way he is, and I've been trying, God knows, I have been trying, but is it enough? Have I done enough? Does he know that it matters he doesn't just give up and..."

He stalled on the last word, the one nobody wanted to think ever never mind say. Did Jess know it mattered that he didn't just give up and die? That was the question, and Lorelai felt a lump form in her throat as she opened her mouth to answer. Surely Jess knew that people cared. Luke cared, and Rory too. His mother had to at least care a little, surely. Right now, even Lorelai cared, as weird as it felt to realise it.

"He knows," she forced out eventually. "Luke, he does," she promised, giving his arm a squeeze with the hand she had left there without even thinking about it. "Sure, you two have your moments, but that's normal. You took him in when he needed somewhere to go, you make sure he's fed and clean and warm. It matters. Just because he doesn't tell you, it still matters."

Luke nodded that he understood, that maybe he believed her, but Lorelai's heart broke when she realised his eyes were tearing up. She had never once seen Luke cry, not even look close to it, until now. Jess could be fine, they knew that, but they also knew how tricky head injuries could be, how easily he could slip away even from such a seemingly minor bump on the forehead.

"Hey," she got his attention, throwing an arm round his shoulders and pulling him close a moment, albeit awkwardly and sideways. "You need to go take a shower, eat some real food," she advised.

"I can't..."

"I'll stay," she promised him. "I swear, Luke, I will sit right here, I won't move, not for a second until you get back, and if there is even the slightest change, you will be called immediately."

He turned to meet her eyes and he knew every word she said was the truth. Lorelai was a heck of a woman, he had always known it, but Luke felt he never was given the chance to forget anyway. She would always remind him, on a daily basis, just how incredible she really was.

Ultimately, she was right. He did need to shower and eat, and if she was going to be here, watching over Jess, well, Luke couldn't think of a single person he would trust more in the task. After a moment, he got to his feet that barely wanted to hold him after so many hours stuck in the chair. He looked over at Jess and forced a smile.

"I'll be back," he promised his nephew, reaching out to carefully smooth down the boy's unruly hair over the white bandage around his head.

Lorelai swallowed hard, and thanked God one more time that her own kid was okay.

* * *

The light was already dimming when Rory woke up the next time. It had been the early hours when her Mom convinced her to leave the hospital and try to get some rest. She had slept most of the daylight hours, at least when she wasn't being thrown back to the land of the living by terrifying nightmares about what had happened. The crash played over and over in her mind, sometimes as it happened, other times worse. It made her want to cry to think about any of it, and yet there didn't seem to be room in her head for anything else right now, except for Clash lyrics that just wouldn't quit.

She had to get up and do something, anything else to clear her head, and yet even as Rory threw on the nearest clothes and shoes, all she could think of that she really wanted to do was get back to the hospital and see if Jess had woken up yet. She couldn't really imagine that he had. Luke would have called, she was certain, and yet she had to hope, she had to go and see what was happening with her friend who she had put in the hospital.

Rory winced at the thought as she opened her bedroom door and headed out into the kitchen. She thought to call for her Mom, but stopped short of doing so when she heard a voice in the living room. Babette was in the armchair, the phone in her hand, chattering away. She had to be here in Lorelai's stead, Rory thought, but didn't have a chance to really process anything else as her ears picked up on her name being spoken.

"What can I say, Patty? I'm just repeatin' what I heard!" Rory heard Babette say then. "The car's a real right off, which is a shame, but it could've been worse. There's not a scratch on our Rory, and thank God for it, but they say Jess is real banged up! I know, I mean, I heard Rory was drivin' but she's gotta be coverin' for the little punk. There's no way Rory would crash a car that way. Well, I guess he got his, huh, Patty? Oh no, I mean, we all hope he pulls through, for Luke's sake if nothin' else. Y'know he acts tough but he loves the boy deep down. I gotta say, if somebody had to get hurt, better Jess than Rory right? Poor darlin', none of this is really her fault..."

"No!" the word came booming out of Rory's mouth without her hardly realising she had spoken.

Babette sure did notice. Her head shot up and she looked at Rory with wide eyes. She certainly hadn't meant to upset the girl, she hadn't even known she was awake.

"Patty, I'll call you back," she said hurriedly into the phone as she hung up her call. "Hey, sugar. I'm sorry, I was just..." she tried to apologise, but the moment she got out of the chair, Rory started to back up a step.

"It wasn't Jess' fault. It was _my_ fault!" she insisted, just this side of hysterical again. "Why is everybody blaming him? He didn't do anything wrong. He is the one in the hospital, he could... he could be badly hurt, and I'm fine, but everybody just... Why doesn't anybody care?"

"It's not that we don't care, honey," Babette assured her, heart breaking at the sight of Rory's tears. "It's just that we don't like the idea of you gettin' into trouble, and Jess is..."

"Jess is in a hospital bed, possibly fighting for his life!" Rory reminded her. "Why can't anybody understand that it's _my_ fault?" she repeated.

She turned and bolted out the back door before Babette really had a chance to give chase. Honestly, she wouldn't have known what to say even if she caught up to the kid.

"Oh, that poor girl," she sighed as she watched her keep on running through the back yard and out into the town.

* * *

The diner lights seemed that much brighter when it got dark outside. Still, nothing was as bright as the eyes and smile of the girl in his arms right now. His whole life, Jess had never known anyone quite like Rory Gilmore. When he got shipped off to Stars Hollow, he had quite decided before he ever arrived that he was going to hate everything about it. Above all others, Rory made him change his mind.

It wasn't just that she was beautiful, even though she definitely was that, with sparkling blue eyes and silky brown hair, and a figure most girls would kill to have. She was smart too, in all the ways that made Jess giddy. She knew her school subjects, but she also knew movies, books, music, the areas of pop culture that were usually a mystery to people their age. There was nothing he would say she didn't have a comeback for, and she took crap from no-one, not even him. Jess loved each and every aspect of her, inside and out, and hoped she knew, in spite of the fact he had never quite found the right words to tell her.

"I like this," she said softly as they continued to dance to the soft music playing somewhere in the background.

"Me too," he replied, knowing he should feel dumb right now, but he didn't.

For all that he had asked her to dance, they weren't really moving much. The music didn't require it, and neither of them were exactly the type for throwing shapes or whatever. They were content just to stand here in the middle of the empty diner, arms around each other, swaying gently to a rhythm that was as much their own as it was the music's influence.

"Can it always be like this?" Rory sighed, letting her head drop onto his shoulder.

"I hope so," he told her, holding her tighter, breathing in the scent of her hair.

It was so peaceful, Jess could just forget anything and everything else. There was no pain, no trouble, nothing to bother him. He had Rory here in his arms, wanting to stay forever, and he was happy to let her. No reason to talk or move at all, just keep on dancing.

"Jess?" she said then, picking her head up, meeting his eyes with a questioning gaze.

"What?" he asked when she said no more, only continued to stare, her expression growing worried in a moment.

Her hand crept up to his face, fingers sliding into his hair. His eyes closed at the soft contact, but the sensation stopped being pleasant as her touch tripped along his forehead to his temple. A sharp pain drove through his head, forcing Jess to take a step back away from her.

"I'm sorry," Rory cried.

He heard her, he could see the tears streaming down her face but when he reached for her she was too far away and slipping further all the time.

"Rory!" he called, but the pain in his head seemed to double in a second.

Jess closed his eyes tight against the agony, his legs giving way from the shock of the pain. He tried to call out for Rory again, but she didn't answer. He tried to see her but even with his eyes open now, there was nothing there, only blinding lights. The music seemed to double in volume too quickly. The Clash were suddenly playing, louder and louder all the time until he thought his ear drums would blow out with the pressure. Jess couldn't escape it, and reality suddenly cut through the dream he had so been enjoying. He was in the car, something was in their path up ahead. He screamed for Rory's attention and she yanked on the wheel, but it was all too late.

"No! Rory! No!"

"Oh my God!" Lorelai panicked as Jess began to writhe around on the bed.

At first she had thought it was a good sign when her talking to him seemed to trigger a response. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe just because her voice sounded a little like Rory's own, she couldn't be sure. Just when she thought she saw a blink of his eyes or a slight tremor of his hand, the writhing around started. He seemed to be in pain or trying to get away from something, and Lorelai just didn't know what to do.

"Nurse! Doctor! Anybody!" she yelled, on her feet as she tried her best to stop Jess from hurting himself. "Jess, c'mon, calm down!"

"Rory!" he screamed through everything else, the sound of her daughter's name just breaking Lorelai's heart a little bit more.

"Rory's fine, Jess. She's fine," she insisted, just hoping that might snap him out of his daze.

Two nurses suddenly appeared in the room, rushing in to see what the problem was, hoping to help calm the situation. Lorelai didn't notice at first that they weren't the only ones to come flying through the door.

"Jess?" Rory cried as she rushed up to the end of the bed.

At that moment, his eyes opened, and Lorelai was sure that the kid was finally and truly back in the land of the living.

"Rory," he breathed, smiling slightly at the sight of her, before promptly passing out again.

_To Be Continued..._


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I really can't leave this fic alone! lol I will continue on with Home Is Where You Are soon, as well as The Runaways and What Might've Been. I always intend to update in some kind of order but lately it just kind of doesn't happen, sorry folks! Anyway, thank you sooo much for all the feedback. Here is a chapter of decent length and somewhat more happy than previous chapters!**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 4

"He said my name. He looked right at me and... It has to be a good sign, right?" Rory asked her mother desperately. "I mean, I know he was out cold again pretty fast, but the fact he was awake at all, it has to be good, right?"

"I guess," Lorelai shrugged. "I'm sorry, honey, I really don't know. They don't teach you much about concussions and comas in business class."

This was awful. They were back to the not knowing again and that was the worst. Plus Luke had no idea Jess had even been awake yet. Lorelai needed to call and tell him, but there were no cell phones allowed inside the hospital and there was no way she could leave Rory while she was in such a state of shock. She wasn't even supposed to be here, and to show up right when Jess started convulsing and screaming, it was the worst possible timing. The Gilmore girls had been ushered out of the room in a moment as nurses checked Jess' vitals and called for a doctor to come in also. Lorelai sat in the hall, hugging her daughter, trying to think of anything comforting to say. The truth was, she was pretty shaken by the turn of events herself.

"Sweets, I know you're freaked out right now, but I really, really have to go call Luke and let him know what happened," she told her daughter gently. "I'll be as fast as I can but..."

She got no further in what she was saying when the door to Jess' room swung open and one of the nurses came out wearing a smile.

"You're Jess Mariano's family?" she checked.

"Yes," Lorelai answered like a reflex and though Rory was surprised she didn't make a peep about it. "Is he okay?"

"He should be," the nurse explained. "The shock and the concussion caused some bad reactions, he potentially woke from a nightmare or a flashback to the accident which is why he was so distressed," she told them. "However, the doctor has done his checks, and it seems that Jess is no longer unconscious, just sleeping."

"Oh my God, that's such good news," said Lorelai, hugging Rory to her as her baby girl cried with evident relief.

"Can I... Can I sit with him?" Rory asked the nurse a second later.

"Of course, honey. Right this way," she ushered her across the corridor.

Lorelai held her daughters hand to the last second, then nodded and smiled encouragingly that she should go on in. The moment Rory was through the door, her mother leaned back in the chair and let out a long breath. The relief was incredible. When Jess had started convulsing and yelling, she had panicked, wondering if this was really him waking up or just slipping away entirely. Now it seemed he was going to be okay, and that was such a weight off her mind. Luke wasn't going to lose the kid. Rory wasn't going to have to live with that much guilt and pain. Lorelai forced herself to her feet and made a literal run for the doors so she could call Luke. She realised she didn't need her cell to talk to him when she barrelled straight into his chest a few feet from the main entrance.

"Lorelai?" he gasped, catching her by the shoulders and holding her at arm's length to see her face which was streaked with tears. "Oh God, what's happened? Is he...?"

"He's fine," she tried to explain, only realising now how hard she was crying when her words wouldn't form properly. "Luke, he woke up, just a second or two, but the doctor checked and he say it's a good thing. Jess is not unconscious anymore, just sleeping. He's okay, Luke, he's okay."

"He's okay," he repeated her words, grabbing Lorelai up in his arms to hug her so tightly. "Thank you" he said into her hair, which made her laugh through the happy tears.

"I really didn't do anything, just sat there and watched him wake up," she explained as she pulled back just enough to see his face. "He's sleeping again now, but real sleeping, not the unconscious kind. It's all good signs, Luke."

He looked down into her eyes then, arms still around her, and if Lorelai hadn't known better she could've sworn he was going to kiss her. What bothered her more was the strange feeling of disappointment when it didn't happen. Luke let her go and started down the corridor.

"Is he alone now?"

"No, no. Rory is with him," she confirmed, hurrying after him. "He actually called her name when he woke up. The nurse said maybe he was dreaming or having a flashback. He wasn't too happy about something and then he was out again. I was pretty freaked until he doctor said it was all good."

"It's all good," Luke echoed, feeling the relief wash over him in another great wave.

He had been so worried about Jess, genuinely scared that the kid might not realise he had a life and a family worth fighting for. Now the worst was over. He had been awake, the whole potential coma thing was no longer a fear they had to carry. Sure, he still had a head injury and a fractured wrist, but things were looking better. Luke didn't have to call Liz and tell her the worst had happened because that had been avoided. Jess was going to be okay.

"Hey," he smiled at Rory as he stepped into the room.

"Luke, he was awake," she grinned back at him, her hand holding Jess' own as he slept on.

"Your Mom told me," he said as he grabbed a second chair and sat down beside her. "He was calling for you apparently."

"He was," Rory nodded, feeling oddly embarrassed. "I just hope he knows that what happened was an accident. I'd hate for him to be mad at me, I never..."

"Rory, I told you, Jess wouldn't blame you for what happened, nobody would," Luke promised her. "Accidents happen all the time, and yeah, this one was pretty serious for a while, but you're okay, and Jess is going to be okay. You don't have to keep on beating yourself up."

She nodded that she understood, and yet the niggling feeling in her stomach just wouldn't quit. Rory was a guilty person, she worried about doing anything that led to suffering or badness. She liked to think she was a good person, and the knowledge that she had caused Jess to be here and in such a state made her feel so sick. She hoped he forgave her when he woke up, though she wondered if she would feel any better when he did.

* * *

"Patty!" Babette called, hurrying across the street to where the dance tutor was outside her studio, smoking a cigarette from the holder. "Any news from the hospital yet?"

"Why, yes. Didn't you hear?" her friend told her with a grin, glad to share the gossip with anyone who cared to listen. "Y'know that East Side Tilly was in Weston's this morning when Mrs Brown came in, well, her niece is a nurse up at St Judes, and she was telling Fran how Jess woke up, apparently screaming our Rory's name!"

"No! Really?" asked Babette, looking stunned. "Well, I guess it's only a good thing that he's awake. Y'know I felt so bad for Rory when she got all upset. I never meant to imply that I wanted anything to happen to the kid. I mean, he's pulled some tricks, but he's just a boy and Luke kinda dotes on him, y'know?

"He must be awfully relieved to know he's out of the woods," Patty considered, blowing out a stream of smoke. "But then Rory will be too. You know as much as she and Dean are supposed to be in love, I see a little something between her and Mariano."

"I didn't tell ya, did I? I saw Dean storm out of there the day before, and there was screamin' and yellin'!" Babette explained. "I mean, I don't like to eavesdrop of the neighbours, but it kinda sounded like murder was bein' committed!"

"You think they broke up?" asked Patty curiously. "I mean that car he built for her? A complete wreck! Even Gypsy doesn't think she can salvage anything to speak of."

"I dunno if it was so much the car wreck as the Jess wreck, if you know what I mean," her friend said out of the side of her mouth, checking all around to see if anyone else was listening in.

"Come on inside, darling," Patty gestured for Babette to follow her. "I got a bottle in here with our name on it. Just give me five minutes to dismiss the kids."

* * *

"Y'know, your Mom is still out in the hall somewhere," said Luke as the thought suddenly occurred to him. "If you wanted to go home..."

"Oh. Okay," replied Rory, shifting awkwardly in her seat. "I'm sorry, I... I can go if you want me to."

"No, no. I'm sorry, I didn't mean that you _should_ go," he immediately back-pedalled. "Just if you wanted to, but if you wanna stay, that's fine too," he smiled.

Rory let out a sigh of relief. She really didn't want to leave at all. Even though Jess was out of danger, she so wanted to stay and see him wake up for real, tell him she was sorry for what happened, see for herself that he was going to be okay. She would hate to be chased out, forced to sit at home waiting for the phone to ring to get her news. She just wanted to be here.

"I'll stay," she told Luke. "Thank you."

"Okay, then I'll just let Lorelai know that you're going to do that and I guess you'll call her when you wanna go home?"

"Yes, thank you, Luke."

He got up and left then, lightly touching Rory's shoulder as he did so. It was a gesture that ought to have meant something and nothing, but it made Rory smile. Luke wasn't what you might call a touchy feely person, and yet in the last couple of days since the accident he had hugged both Rory and Lorelai and been altogether more tactile with not just them but with Jess too, holding his hand and pushing his hair back whilst he lie unconscious in the hospital bed. It was strange how dramatic events could affect a person, to the point where the littlest things started to matter.

"Come on, Jess," said Rory then as she turned her attention back to his sleeping form. "I know teenage boys are famous for sleeping in, but this is getting a little silly now, mister!"

Rory thought she was imagining it when she felt her hand move of its own accord. It could only be the fingers she was holding in her own twitching as Jess woke. Maybe he had heard her speak, she really hoped so. Though this was supposedly just sleep and not a coma-type state anymore, she had a hard time believing it until she saw his eyes open for more than a second.

"Jess?" she tried, leaning over him. "Jess, it's Rory."

"I know that," he mumbled as he finally woke, eyes flickering open and looking up into her own. "Hi," he smiled.

"Hey," she replied, smiling back, at least at first.

It fast became clear that Jess was confused. When he woke, he was just happy to see her, but now he was wondering why she was in his room, and why this actually wasn't his room at all.

"You're in the hospital," she said, hoping he might remember something just so she didn't have to explain in full, because it still hurt way too much. "Your arm is fractured and you hurt your head, but you're gonna be fine, I swear," she promised him.

Jess looked around, brown eyes taking in the whole room and then his own body in the bed, arm in a cast, everything. Then his gaze returned to Rory and his expression was no more calm than before. There was a terrifying moment when she thought he didn't know her or himself or something equally as horrible.

"Are you okay?" he asked then.

Rory smiled.

"I'm fine. Just worried about you."

That made Jess smile too. He loved that she cared. He acted like they were just friends, like nothing she said or did really mattered to him. Man, that was a hell of an act he was putting on for her lately. Jess was wondering now why he even bothered to pretend. When he opened his mouth to speak again, his throat seemed to go dry of it's own accord and then the coughing started.

Rory immediately reached for the water jug and glass. She poured out a drink for Jess and helped him take a few sips. He muttered a thanks as his breath came back and he let his body sag back against the pillows.

"We crashed."

"We did. I mean, _I_ did," said Rory guiltily, looking at her hands in her lap a moment before making herself meet his gaze all over again. "Jess, I am so sorry."

"For what?"

"For crashing the car, for being the reason you're lying here like this."

Jess couldn't believe she was beating herself up about it. Actually, on consideration, he really could. This was Rory Gilmore, more good and pure than anybody Jess ever met his whole life. Of course she would blame herself, even though she really shouldn't.

"Pretty sure the furry thing in the road was the blame," he told her. "What was that anyway?"

"I have no idea," she shook her head. "But Jess, I was so scared when you... there was blood and you wouldn't wake up," she cried, knowing she should be all out of tears right now and yet somehow finding more.

"Hey, it's okay," he told her, reaching for her hand and holding on tight.

She really was very upset and Jess hated that he was partly the cause. She was blaming herself, and he could easily do the same. If he hadn't insisted on going out for ice-cream, if he hadn't let her drive back, maybe they would never have had that accident at all.

When Luke walked in, he found Rory with her head practically on Jess' chest. His fingers ran through her hair as he tried to get her to stop crying. It was an odd little scene, but sweet in its way. Luke almost felt like he was intruding, and yet he couldn't leave. Jess was awake.

"Jess," he smiled as he greeted his nephew. "Good to have you back."

"Good to be back... I think," he changed his mind when just nodding his head in greeting to his uncle made it ache all over again. "After we crashed, did a Mack truck run over my head, repeatedly?" he asked Rory but she was too busy being embarrassed and cleaning up her face to answer.

"Don't mess with that!" Luke admonished Jess the moment he even tried to touch the bandage around his head.

"Well, you should be happy. I don't think I can do much with my hair right now," his nephew smirked annoyingly.

"I'm just happy you're awake," said Luke, sitting down on the edge of the bed near Rory's chair.

"Me too," she agreed with a smile.

"Yeah, well," Jess tried to make light of their concern, since he was so not used to these things. "Make the most of it. I don't know what drugs they have me on but things are a little too comfy right here," he admitted, shifting in the bed and feeling a yawn bubbling up before he could stop it.

"Get lots of rest while you can, Jess. You need it," Rory insisted. "And when you come home, I'm going to help out. Cover your shifts in the diner if you want, help with your homework, anything."

"Hey, this is all it takes to get my own personal slave?" he replied, smirking wickedly, his eyes sparkling with fun. "Wow, head injuries are cool."

"Not funny," Luke told him, looking as if he would quite happily smack the kid upside his head if he wasn't already hurt.

Rory smiled a little and got up from her seat.

"I should go tell Mom that you're awake. Be back soon," she promised, and then she was gone.

Luke watched her until she was completely out of the room and the swing door came back into place. His attention went back to a very sleepy Jess then and he sighed.

"She's been really worried about you."

"Yeah?" asked Jess, looking perhaps a little too pleased about that.

"But she's still dating Dean," his uncle confirmed, not surprised to see his nephew's face drop at the news.

"I know."

Another yawn came next and Luke couldn't help but be reminded of Jess as a much younger child. He hadn't seen him much then, but lying in this bed so quiet and much less cocky for the most part, he could see that little boy.

"Oh, Jess, you gave us a scare," he sighed, reaching out to fix his messed up hair as much as he could.

For once, Jess didn't flinch away or make a big deal, just let it happen.

"I'm sorry," he said, as genuinely as Luke ever heard him say anything. "For once, it wasn't intentional."

His uncle smiled at that.

"Get some more rest, kid," he encouraged him, switching from the bed to the chair and making himself as comfortable as he could. "We'll be here when you wake up," he promised.

"Cool," Jess muttered right before he let sleep claim him one more time.

_To Be Continued..._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so much to all the fabulous reviewers that say such nice things *hugs you all*. This chapter got a little long, but I don't think anyone will complain, right? ;)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 5

Rory just didn't want to be in school today. All day long she did her best to concentrate but Chilton was too far away from home suddenly and all she could do was want to get back. Jess was getting out of the hospital today. The doctors said so long as there were no more complications overnight, he was free to go just as soon as they re-applied the dressing on his head. Nobody knew exactly what time he would be discharged, but somehow she just wanted to be there. The whole way home she was willing the bus to move faster, not that it made any sense, but she was doing it nevertheless.

Just as soon as it was safe to leap off the bus, Rory did so. She started towards the diner, only to be stopped in her tracks by someone calling her name. She wouldn't have slowed down for anybody else, but she knew it was Lane barrelling after her, and for her best friend she could spare a few minutes.

"Oh my God, Rory, I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing at her.

"I'm fine," she promised as they fell into a hug. "I'm so sorry I didn't get to talk to you sooner, I was at the hospital most of the time with Jess..."

"Is he okay?" asked Lane worriedly. "The rumours flying around school are just crazy, everything from him being dead to being in a coma..."

"He was unconscious for a while but he's okay now," Rory assured her. "Oh, Lane, it was just awful! This thing ran out in the road and I swerved and then... I was terrified! It's a miracle I don't even have a bruise or a scratch, but Jess was bleeding and out cold."

"I saw the car at Gypsy's," her friend nodded. "I asked Dean if you were okay and he said you were but he pretty much cut me off at the knees for so much as mentioning your name. He can't be that mad about the car, right? I mean, it was an accident, he should be happy it's the car that's in pieces and not you!"

"It's not about the car," Rory shook her head, walking towards the diner with Lane by her side. "He was mad because I was with Jess, and even though the crash was my fault and it was Jess that got hurt, Dean wanted to blame him. I got mad, pretty much threw him out of then house. I mean, I know him and Jess don't get along, but it was like he didn't even care that he was in the hospital unconscious!"

"Wow. I didn't think Dean would be so harsh," said Lane sadly. "I get the whole jealousy thing but..."

"What jealousy thing?" her friend asked her with a look.

"Oh, come on, Rory, you're not that blind," smiled Lane. "Jess likes you and you like Jess. Dean sees it and it makes him jealous."

"But I..." she tried to start a denial but even Rory knew there was no way she could do it.

She did like Jess, she had no reason to deny that really. Of course, the implication was that she cared for him more than a friend, more than she cared for Dean. Right in this moment, that was probably true. Her so-called boyfriend had made her so very angry, and Jess was always nice to her, plus he needed her right now. As it turned out, Lane didn't seem to require an explanation. Before they quite made it to the diner door, her watch beeped and she started backing up.

"I'm sorry, Mama Kim is expecting me home. This was as long as I could risk without her wondering where I've been," she said quickly as she continued walking backwards a few more paces. "I'm glad you're okay! Jess too!" she yelled, before pelting away down the street.

"Thanks, Lane!" Rory called behind her, smiling at first but soon frowning again as she thought about what had been implied in their conversation.

Rory didn't have feelings for Jess. She kept on telling herself that all the time. The worry was the realisation that she really needed to. Shaking her head free of such thoughts, she turned and went into the diner. Just as soon as she walked in, Luke smiled at her. Rory knew then it was good news.

"He's home?" she checked, practically bouncing.

"Upstairs, if you wanna go check on him for me?" he offered.

Rory wasted no time rushing behind the curtain and disappearing up to the apartment above. Any other day she probably would've knocked but she was so eager to see Jess home again, she didn't think to. She burst in through the door and narrowly missed being hit by a flying book.

"Geez, what was that?" she gasped, looking in at where Jess was sat on his bed and then down at the ground where 'Slaughterhouse-Five' lay. "Why are you throwing Kurt Vonnegut novels at me?" she asked, picking it up and waving it at Jess like a weapon.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he snapped, flopping back onto the bed with his hands over his face.

Rory wasn't offended anymore, she was only concerned. He looked pale, which was weird for Jess, he was throwing books which was very out of character, and he was snapping at her which wasn't normal either. Snapping at Luke, or anyone else for that matter, was pretty natural for Jess, but he was always nice to Rory.

"Jess?" she wandered over to the bed, his book still in her hand. "Jess, if you're in pain or you need anything..."

"I don't," he sighed, words muffled by his hands that were still over his face.

In concern for him and a curious need to know what was happening, Rory cautiously sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled at his hands to see his face. She didn't need to ask what was wrong, he knew she was worried. Even in this moment of self pity, Jess hated that he might've scared her.

"My head hurts, okay?" he sighed heavily. "Don't worry, it's normal. The doctor told me, no reading, no loud music. It's like he doesn't know me at all," he rolled his eyes, and somehow even that seemed to hurt.

"Poor Jess," Rory sympathised, getting the urge to push his hair out of his face like she had at the hospital when he was sleeping.

Her hand twitched to do it, but she resisted. He probably wouldn't appreciate it when he was awake and grumpy already.

"I'm just bored, or I was until you got here to keep me company," he smiled then, that smirky look that was one hundred percent Jess.

It made Rory smile too, knowing that underneath it all he was okay, his old self who she liked maybe too much. Of course when he kept on staring up at her from beneath the much smaller bandage on his head, his gaze so intense, Rory forgot how to even form a sentence.

They could always talk before, about books and music and movies. They never ran out of topics, and yet right now, Rory was struggling to think of one. She was hyper aware of their closeness and the fact she was perched on his bed in a room where they were alone. Trying to get her head off that topic just brought her back to the last time they were in this position, in a hospital.

"Jess, I'm so sorry about what happened," she told him again.

Immediately, his smile faded.

"Rory, please, would you stop apologising!" he urged her. "Just stop it, I don't need it. I'm fine, or close to it," he promised, looking down at his own arm in plaster. "The cast comes off in a couple of weeks, my head will heal, won't even screw up my looks."

He was smirking again as he pulled himself up and turned to sit beside her. "Seriously, you gotta stop blaming yourself. I'm not blaming you, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed, finding a smile.

That was all Jess wanted, to see her smile. He really wasn't mad at her at all for what happened. It was an accident and it could just as easily have happened if he was behind the wheel. Probably he would have felt just as guilty if things had been reversed. Strike that, he _definitely_ would have, but that wasn't important right now. They were both fine, and honestly, Jess would rather have taken the hit than Rory anyway.

"So, where does Dean think you are right now?" he asked, unable to help himself.

His thought process had led him from the accident to the car to Lurch in a couple of simple steps. Rory visibly squirmed, folding her arms across her chest almost defensively.

"I don't know and I don't care," she grumbled. "We're not really speaking."

Jess' eyes narrowed at that, but Rory wouldn't have known because she was looking everywhere but at him.

"Why?" he asked, but she wouldn't answer. "Because of me?" he guessed. "What the hell did I do from a hospital bed? Is he just pissed I'm okay?"

More squirming and avoidance tactics answered that question way too easily.

"Geez, he actually is," Jess exclaimed with a humourless laugh.

"I got mad about it!" Rory insisted. "I can't believe he would be that way."

"I can," he shrugged in response, knowing that if the shoe was on the other foot, he really wouldn't care much about Forester either.

"You don't know him," she said definitely, all prepared to go into her 'my boyfriend's awesome' bit and Jess just knew it.

"I know enough," he replied as he got up to walk away.

The sudden movement was not what Jess' head wanted or was ready for. The moment he was fully upright, his vision blurred and he staggered a little, trying to catch himself. It was a surprise to find that there was nothing solid to grab and then suddenly an arm was under his, another around his shoulders. The world got a little less fuzzy as he was lowered back down to sit on the edge of the bed, and there was Rory, incredibly close and looking terrified.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Jess swallowed hard and got his bearings, more dazzled right now by the blue of her eyes than by the bout of concussion symptoms.

"Yeah," he nodded carefully. "Thanks."

She nodded too, some kind of 'you're welcome' he guessed, and then she seemed even closer. Before Jess could process what was happening, Rory's lips were on his own. It wasn't much of a kiss, a brief moment that he didn't really get a chance to fully make the most of before it was over, but it mattered. It meant something that she was the one to make the first move.

The next second she had pulled away, and then she was flustered and running for the door, apologising and promising to come visit again soon, telling him she was glad he was home right before the door slammed shut. Jess might've winced at the sound, but somehow he barely heard it. His hand went to his lips where Rory's had been a moment ago, and he smiled.

* * *

Rory went flying out of Luke's, glad when he didn't call for her to stop. He was busy with customers, he probably didn't even see her, and that was fine with Rory. The nasty surprise came when she crossed the street and barrelled straight into a familiar chest.

"Hey," said Dean, putting his hands out to her shoulders when she stumbled against him.

"Hi," she answered, looking away, tucking her hair behind her ear in a nervous gesture.

"So, I think we need to talk," he said, shuffling as awkwardly as she was. "I, er... I'm sorry about the other day, I just... It was dumb. I really don't want things to fall apart here."

Rory didn't know what she was supposed to say to that. A few days ago she would've said the same thing, that she didn't want to break up with Dean, that she was completely in love with him still. The accident had changed things, more than she could ever really explain. It made her look at her life differently, made her look at Jess and Dean differently too. She had just been kissing a guy that wasn't her boyfriend, there was no way for her to stand here and tell Dean everything was okay. Still, he was right, they did need to talk.

"We're not doing this in the street," she muttered, heading for her house without telling him he should follow.

Dean took it as read that he was supposed to and silently they walked down the street to the Gilmore house. Rory tried to organise her thoughts the whole way home. It wasn't easy. Her mind was still reeling from the kiss she initiated with Jess and the way he was so into it. She hadn't been quiet prepared for her own actions, never mind his response. Now she had to talk to Dean, and she had no idea where to begin. A part of her felt bad for effectively cheating on him. Another, too-large part felt angry at him still for his attitude before, for his wanting to blame Jess for the accident even though it was clearly Rory's fault and her friend was much more badly hurt than she was.

"Jess is doing better, by the way," she said shortly as they entered the house.

"Good," Dean replied, though he hardly looked like he meant it.

"I'm going to be helping him out until he's fully recovered," she continued, arms folded across her chest as she stood as tall as she could in front of her overly-tall boyfriend. "You probably don't like the sound of that, which I understand, but if you can't be okay with it then..."

"Then, what?" he asked when her sentence trained away.

Rory couldn't even meet his eyes at first. She didn't really have an answer to his question, or she did but she didn't want to say it. She didn't want to break up with Dean, at least she was pretty sure she didn't. On the other hand, a good and faithful girlfriend who wanted to remain in her current relationship didn't go kissing other guys, she knew that too.

"I don't know, Dean," she told him honestly, making herself meet his eyes. "Look, I know you have a problem with Jess liking me, but that's not my fault."

"I know," he nodded his agreement. "I guess the real problem is how much you seem to like him too."

Rory swallowed hard before she spoke again.

"I like him because he's my friend," she said with less conviction that she should.

"Just your friend?" Dean checked, watching her squirm.

"Well, yeah."

He wasn't buying it. Hell, even Rory wasn't believing herself right now and she hated it. She hated that she was trying to lie and failing miserably. Being honest was going to create such a shock wave, turn her whole life upside down. If only it really were possible to have your cake and eat it too, because that was what Rory would just love to do right now. Life wasn't that simple of course. She had a choice, Dean or Jess. Keeping both in her life the way she would most like to was impossible, not to mention unkind.

"Rory, please," her boyfriend sighed, running his hand back through his hair. "I know you've been through a lot these last couple of days, but so have I. You could have died in that car or Jess could've, maybe even both of you," he told her what she already knew, though Rory hadn't considered until now the profound effect those events might have had on Dean, just herself and Jess. "It made me think, a lot, and I need you to be honest with me. Do you like Jess as more than a friend?" he asked her straight out.

For the first time Rory knew she had to give the most honest of answers. It wasn't as if she had meant to lie to Dean all this time, deliberately pretending she had no feelings for Jess. In all honesty, the person she had been lying to most was herself. Jess was a friend, no doubt about it, but she wanted more, and the longer she told herself she shouldn't, the more that want increased. Dean was right, Rory had a life and death experience with Jess and he was her sole focus. She hadn't thought about Dean once until he showed up and drove her crazy with his attitude; now that she thought about it, he had at least been partly justified.

"Yes," she said too softly, clearing her throat and trying again the moment she realised it. "Yes, I think I do like him more than a friend," she admitted, determinedly meeting his gaze even as her eyes filled up with tears because she knew how much this was going to hurt the both of them. "I'm sorry, Dean."

He looked down a moment, swallowing a lump in his throat that she could practically see.

"Don't be sorry," he told her, being as brave as he could be in the circumstances, while his heart broke in two. "You can't help what you feel," he said, turning to go.

"Dean!" she called after him, giving chase to the door, but he shrugged her off the moment she reached to stop him.

"Rory, don't," he told her, unable to look back for a second, knowing he'd cry like a kid if he saw her own tears. "You know it has to be over if that's how you feel."

Of course she knew that, it was what she had been dreading. As much as she was falling for Jess, and Rory had known for a while now that she was, she still loved Dean, she just wasn't as in love with him as she should be. It hurt like hell to have him walk out right now, even though she knew as well as he did that it was the only way forward.

"I still love you," she told him anyway.

She just had to make sure he knew, because none of this was really his fault.

"And I love you," Dean confessed, a sad smile on his face when he finally gave in and turned back to look at her a moment. "But maybe that's not enough anymore."

He leaned in to plant a kiss on her forehead, and then swept out of the door before anything else could be said or done. Rory watched her boyfriend, who must now be called her ex, hurry down the driveway and across the street until he was out of sight. Her body shook with sobs as tears streamed down her face. Dean hadn't deserved a broken heart, but she had no choice. As much as Rory knew she would rather be with Jess right now, it didn't mean she wasn't hurting too, and there was no-one here to hold and comfort her anymore.

_To Be Continued..._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So Rory & Dean are over, and that means the Literati can happen... kind of... soonish... it's gonna happen, people, trust me ;) Oh, and thank you, thank you, thank you for all the lovely reviews! :)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 6

"Morning, sweets," Lorelai greeted her daughter with a hopeful smile, though she hardly expected to get a cheery response.

Rory was hurting, and her mother knew why. She had arrived home last night to find her baby girl in floods of tears. An awkward confession told Lorelai that the great Rory-Dean romance was no more. She sympathised and offered comfort, but she didn't ask for details. Somehow Lorelai already knew what had happened. She would have been shocked if Dean had cheated or some other heinous crime, and equally as baffled if Rory was truly the guilty party. This all came back to Jess, to the fact that he liked Rory and she liked him back. That wasn't really anybody's fault as such, just the way things were sometimes. Of course, that didn't mean that Dean and Rory weren't both hurting in their own ways. Break ups always broke hearts even when there was really nobody to blame for the pain.

"You sleep okay?" asked Lorelai as Rory dropped down into a seat at the kitchen table.

"Some," her daughter confessed. "There was a lot going on in my head."

Lorelai nodded her understanding and searched the cupboards and refrigerator for food. There was never much available for breakfast, which was why they usually frequented the diner. Today was worse than ever, not even one Pop Tart to split between themselves. Lorelai looked guilty as she faced her daughter.

"Um, so... I'm gonna run to the store, really, really fast," she promised. "Get us some breakfast type things. Coffee's on so..."

"Why?" asked Rory, frowning at her mom.

"I'm sorry, why? Why is the coffee on? Because without it, what is life?" she said, as if explaining to a first grader.

Rory rolled her eyes and smiled slightly.

"Not why is there coffee, why are you store-bound?" she tried again. "Can't we just go to the Luke's?"

Lorelai dropped her purse back onto the table and sat down by her daughter. She reached for her hands and took them in her own.

"Honey, we can definitely go to Luke's. I was just... Well, I wasn't sure that was where you wanted to be right now," she confessed. "I mean, you seemed to imply that the whole breaking up with Dean thing involved you and Jess being, well, friendly. I wasn't entirely clear where you and our famous town hoodlum stood right now."

"Me either," Rory admitted. "But I don't want to avoid him. Jess didn't do anything wrong, and I promised to help out while he was recovering and everything. Besides, if we avoid the diner it'll upset Luke, and he has so had enough upsetting the last few days."

"Agreed," Lorelai nodded. "You're a good kid, kid," she smiled at Rory who smiled right on back.

"I inherited that from my mother," she replied, the two of them getting up at the same time and sharing a brief but tight hug.

The truth was, Rory did feel a little strange about facing Jess, and not just because of her break up with Dean. The kiss was a big deal too, but her mom knew nothing about that. A part of Rory wanted to tell Lorelai all about it and find out her reaction, another part was freaked out, worrying what that reaction would be. The frown on her face when they parted from their hug made Lorelai wonder out loud what was wrong.

"It's nothing, I... Well, there is something, but if I tell you, please don't judge me?"

"Hey, non-judgemental is my middle name," said Lorelai, retaking her seat and gesturing for Rory to do the same.

"Is that before or after the Victoria?" she checked as she sat back down. "So, yesterday I went over to the diner after school. I saw Jess, he was kinda depressed because of his concussion symptoms and stuff, but we talked and it was cool," she smiled at the memory. "Then... well, we were sitting pretty close and... and I don't know what happened exactly, I just... I might've kissed him."

"You _might've_ kissed him?" checked Lorelai. "Okay, now, I know you're not the most experienced of girls, honey, but I think you know whether you did or did not kiss a boy."

"I _did_ kiss him," Rory admitted, squirming in her seat. "And I know it was wrong, because technically I was still dating Dean until after that, and if I could explain it I would, I just... it felt like the thing to do. It was what I wanted to do."

"I think it's been what you've been wanting to do for a while now," said Lorelai, not looking happy about it even though she knew it was true.

Rory opened her mouth to argue then closed it again quickly. Her mom was right, just like always. Of course she had been wanting to kiss Jess for a while now. Off and on since they first met, the thought had been running through her head. There was a moment on the bridge after the Bid-A-Basket auction, another at their house the day Jess came to clean the gutters, and then more recently when he came over with a care package of food and stayed to talk books for an hour or more. That was before she even got to the night of the accident, so many tiny moments when he leaned in close, touched her hand, smiled like he meant it. Every time, a part of Rory was longing to be a little closer, a little braver. She wanted that kiss so badly, just as soon as the chance arose yesterday, she had finally taken the initiative and gone with her instincts. It had felt so good too.

"Do you think I'm bad person now?" Rory asked her mom.

Lorelai shook her head.

"No, I don't," she told her honestly. "Rory, honey, you can't help it if you feel things for Jess, or if those feelings you had for Dean aren't so strong anymore. Do you know how many people stick with their first love forever? Because I never did a scientific study, but I'm pretty sure it's not many."

"I know," her daughter sighed. "Me and Dean... I guess it wasn't meant to be in the long term, but I honestly thought it was when we got together."

"Sweetheart, in the beginning, I thought me and your father were forever, but me and Christopher... it wasn't meant to be," Lorelai shrugged. "We're still friends, and there will always be a place for him in my heart, but sometimes things just change. As you grow up, you move on."

"You think it's okay if I move on with Jess?" she asked, looking so young and uncertain.

Lorelai didn't want to give her a positive response, but at the same time she refused to lie to Rory. Phrasing her feelings in the right way wasn't going to be easy but she had to try.

"I think that if you feel that you want to be with Jess and he feels the same, then you should probably go ahead and try it," she admitted. "But, and I am putting big emphasis on this but, okay? I need you to promise me that you'll be careful. Jess is... he's not like Dean, which in part, I guess, is the point, but I just get the feeling he has more experience in dating and girls and all," she said awkwardly. "I just want you to be careful, you understand?"

"Of course," Rory nodded. "Mom, we kissed for the first time just yesterday, and I was the one that started it," she reminded her. "I really don't think Jess would ever hurt me on purpose."

"I'm sure you're right," she agreed. "But sometimes, and I am not making a deliberate reference to the car wreck, but accidents do happen, and people get hurt even when it was the last thing you actually wanted."

Rory knew that was true, and that her Mom was speaking about emotional pain as much as the physical. Jumping into a new relationship with Jess, if that was what they chose to do, it wouldn't be perfect. There was no such thing as a perfect relationship, not for anybody, but Rory firmly believed she could be happy with Jess. Maybe it wasn't forever, she wasn't so naive anymore as to think she would have one boyfriend for the rest of her life, and she had already disproven that theory, but she did want to give this thing with Jess a chance, if he wanted to, of course.

"So, Luke's for breakfast?" Lorelai checked.

Rory smiled widely.

"Luke's for breakfast," she agree as they both got up and headed out.

* * *

"How's that boy doing, Luke?"

"Jess is okay, Patty. Thanks for asking," he smiled across the counter at her. "I'll let him know you asked after him though."

"Well, of course, we were all so concerned when we realised what happened," she told him, all dramatic hand gestures and wide eyes. "It's so unlike Rory to get into any kind of trouble..."

"Yeah, but not so much for Jess, right?" Luke cut in with a look that made Miss Patty squirm. "Look, I know that he's no saint, Patty, believe me, I know, but this was an accident. It wasn't Rory's fault, and it certainly wasn't Jess' fault either," he said definitely.

"Oh, I didn't mean to imply..."

"I know what the implications have been, and I don't care for them, okay?"

The tone with which Luke spoke then certainly silenced Miss Patty, as well a various other patrons of the diner who heard him. Everybody knew that their own Luke Danes was not to be messed with when he got mad, and he looked pretty ticked right now.

"Wow," said a voice nobody was expecting. "It's almost like you were defending me."

Jess looked as stunned as he sounded, though it was all a carefully honed act. Of course he knew how much his uncle cared. As if taking him in and trying to do right by him wasn't enough evidence; he was ten times the parent Liz was, and knocked Jimmy right out of the park. Jess had further proof of how much Luke cared since the car accident. Sitting by his bedside, willing him to be okay, you didn't do that for just anybody.

"Jess, get back upstairs, you need to sleep," his uncle told him, but as usual he was ignored.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," he quoted easily, moving around the counter and pulling up a stool.

As he looked around he realised just how many eyes were on him, including Miss Patty's gaze amongst others. It was disconcerting and he hoped wouldn't last, but the guy with the broken arm and bandaged head, injured thanks to little Rory Gilmore crashing her car, was quite the talking point, he supposed. Pulling the book out of his back pocket, Jess settled in to fake-read for awhile. He still couldn't get through much more than a chapter before his head protested, but at least if he seemed like he was occupied people might leave him be.

"...and you know how Mommy can be if she doesn't get her coffee," said a voice as the bell over the door jangled.

Jess smirked into his book. Lorelai was here and she wouldn't be talking that way to anyone but Rory. He'd never admit it, but a large part of his reason for coming downstairs at all was for a chance of seeing Rory Gilmore. The other part was that he was so damn bored and the silence of the apartment was driving him insane. Most of Jess' music had too much of a beat to be comfortable for his head right now, and there was just enough general hum of talking and such in the diner to keep him from going crazy. The main reason remained the girl that just walked in, however, even if she didn't know it.

"Are you going over there?" asked Luke.

Jess looked up with a frown on his face.

"What? Over where?" he checked, as if he didn't know.

"Don't be a wise ass!" his uncle admonished. "Just because you got a cast on your arm and a bump on your head doesn't mean I suddenly can't tell when you're being a wise ass. Now get over there and be nice to the two women who sat by your bedside when you were in the hospital!"

Jess did his best to keep the smirk off his face but it didn't come easy.

"Yes, Uncle Luke," he said dutifully, saluting him with his book as he got down from the stool and headed over to the Gilmores table. "Hi."

"Hi," replied Rory.

The greetings were repeated between Jess and Lorelai, and she seemed to be the only one who realised how ridiculous they all must seem right now. She looked between the two teens and tried not to smile. They really needed to talk, and there was no way for them to do that with her sat in the middle.

"How're you feeling, Jess?" she asked politely.

"Better, thanks," he nodded.

"You wanna sit with us for breakfast? You're more than welcome," she offered then.

He looked a little confused by Lorelai's kindness but accepted it nonetheless, pulling out the spare seat and sitting down opposite Rory. She squirmed a little under his gaze and looked to her mom for help. Lorelai wouldn't give her an easy out.

"So, er, I really need to talk to Luke," she said, getting up all of a second after Jess sat down. "Back in a sec."

"Presenting Lorelai Gilmore - subtle like a flying brick to the face," said Jess in full sarcasm mode, making Rory laugh.

It was good, it broke the tension a little. Unfortunately, the relaxed mood didn't last long when Rory remembered what happened yesterday, both the kiss she planted on Jess and then the break up with Dean. She didn't know where to begin in explaining her actions or her reactions or anything really.

"So, you okay?" asked Jess, snapping Rory out of a thoughtful silence.

"Er, yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "You?"

"Fine," he nodded once. "Rory, yesterday, what happened upstairs..."

"I broke up with Dean," she blurted out before he could say anything else.

It wasn't intentional, not at all, it was just when he started to talk about all the things that were already swirling around in her head, she just had this urge to tell him what had happened, the parts he didn't know about. He certainly looked suprise by her revelation.

"You did?" he checked.

"I did... or we did. It was kind of a mutual thing in the end, I guess," she considered. "We're just... we're not right for each other anymore."

"Huh."

As expected, Jess went non-verbal on her just as soon as Rory said anything really serious, anything that might lead to something more between them. He played it so cool most of the time, like he didn't really want to be close to her at all, that it was all just her imagination and stuff. That was harder to pull off after everything that had happened, the crash, the hospital, the kiss yesterday.

"So, um, I don't have a lot of time right now, but after school, did you wanna hang out, maybe?" asked Rory, looking everywhere but at him.

Jess seemed to deliberately wait until she became brave enough to risk looking him in the eye before he answered.

"Yes," he told her with a genuine smile, the like of which was rarely seen on his face. "You wanna come here or...?"

"Here is fine," she smiled back, just as her mom returned to the table with coffee and the promise that Luke would be right over to take their orders.

"Everything good here, kids?" she asked, looking between them.

"Yeah, it's good," Jess told her.

"Very good," Rory confirmed.

Lorelai tried not to smile too much at how completely 'teen romance' they were being, and this before the romance had even truly begun!

_To Be Continued..._


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: This chapter kind of deals more with the title - the blame game. However, it is also pretty heavy on the Literati cuteness, so there's that ;) Thanks to all those who keep on leaving lovely reviews - you rock! :)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 7

Rory had never felt so many mixed emotions about going to the diner after school. Luke's was her usual hang out both at the beginning of the day and the end. Often she went with her Mom, sometimes with Lane when her friend was feeling brave and prepared to risk the wrath of Mama Kim, and at other times alone. Today she was headed in by herself, but for the entire reason of meeting someone else.

It wasn't exactly a date that she and Jess had, but Rory felt as nervous as if that were exactly what they had arranged. She even went so far as to check her reflection in the plate glass window, and taking a deep breath before she faced the people inside.

Jess was hovering behind the counter, looking as if he were only pretending to clean up. Rory would like to think he was feeling as oddly nervous as she was, yet somehow she doubted it.

"Hey," she greeted him as she reached the counter and hopped onto a stool.

"Hi," he replied with a genuine smile that she was quickly becoming accustomed to. "How was school?"

"It was fine," she shrugged. "I have some homework but nothing that can't wait a while."

"Hey, Rory Gilmore, Rebel Without A Cause," he teased, leaning towards her across the counter.

It was instinct to back up a little, and yet Rory forced herself not to. She didn't have anything to fear from Jess, and nobody could say she was doing anything wrong in getting close to him anymore. She and Dean were over, she was free and single.

"I can be rebellious sometimes," she told him, poking him in the arm for good measure. "You don't know everything about me."

"Not yet anyway," he agreed, still smiling. "You hungry?" he checked then. "Caesar has the grill fired up, so there's burgers or whatever you want."

"Um, yeah, I could eat," she agreed, starting to dig into her backpack for her wallet.

"On the house," Jess told her, putting his hand on hers to stop her search. "I think the whole sitting by my bedside, praying for my life thing probably earned you a meal".

He was being sarcastic and going for a joke, but Rory couldn't allow herself to be so flippant, not yet. It was still too raw, the memory of Jess lying in that bed just a few short days ago, all blood and bruises, so very still and quiet in a way she never saw him before and never wished to again.

"That was a joke," he explained the moment he saw her expression change.

"Hey, it's your life-and-death experience to joke about," she shrugged. "I just... It's not so funny from this side of the counter," she told him.

Jess nodded in understanding, feeling bad. He hadn't meant to upset Rory of all people, in fact, he was trying to keep the mood light. Maybe it was in poor taste to try to make a joke out of an accident that might've killed the both of them. She felt so guilty about it, and though he had convinced her to stop apologising every three seconds, he was sure she was still thinking about it, still feeling like she did something terrible.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, looking everywhere but at her. "Sometimes I just say things..." he made a vague gesture of words coming out of his mouth unchecked and Rory found a half smile for him.

Jess didn't mean to upset her, she knew that. It just freaked her out so much still to think of what might've happened, how bad that accident they had really could've been. The main casualty had been the car, with Jess a close second. She was fine, and that was maybe what made Rory feel worst of all, that and the way the whole town seemed so eager to blame anyone and anything apart from her.

"So, how long until you go back to school?" she asked then, hoping the subject change stuck - it did.

"Pretty sure I'm going back tomorrow," Jess told her. "Luke seems to think he knows better than the doctors and even me when it comes to my own head, but I think we came to a compromise."

"Tell me you weren't arguing pro school attendance?" she asked, wide eyed and smiling.

It would be so un-Jess-like to be eager to get back to his studies. As naturally smart as he was, he hated the education system. It was why Rory had been brought in to tutor him in the first place. Jess was in no way dumb, not even lazy actually, he just didn't see the point of school.

"Hey, if I can get through a whole day of school, maybe dearest uncle Luke will stop with the house arrest already," he rolled his eyes dramatically. "Seriously, he wouldn't even let me walk as far as Doose's for milk this morning. The guy is unhinged!"

"He just cares," said Rory definitely, knowing it was true, knowing Jess knew it too, even if he would never admit it.

"Yeah, maybe," he muttered, the closest they were ever going to get to an admission.

The fact was, Jess did know Luke cared, of course he did. The men in their family were not great at expressing feelings, that was clear to each of them as well as anybody that knew them. Sometimes you didn't need words though, hardly ever actually. The fact Luke sat by Jess' bedside worrying about him, the way he had looked after him so well these past few days, it all meant so much. It also mattered that he hadn't mentioned Liz.

Jess was surprised by that one, not that he really expected his mother to be all that interested necessarily, it depended what else (or rather _who_ else) she had going on. Still, Luke had to have told his sister what happened, he was too good of a person not to report back to the parent about her child being hospitalised no matter how old that kid was. The fact he never mentioned her reaction to the news proved to Jess that Liz was unmoved by recent events. That suited Jess just fine, it meant he didn't have to talk to her at all. He was prone to headaches enough already without adding his mother's dulcet tones to the mix.

"Jess?"

Rory's hand on his atop the counter was more startling than her speaking his name. These things both alerted him to the fact he must have zoned out.

"Sorry, what?" he checked, looking up to meet her eyes and seeing concern within their deep blue shade. "Rory, I'm fine," he promised her one more time. "You cannot freak out every time I zone out or whatever. Everybody does that, even you," he told her with a smile.

"I know, I'm sorry," she shook her head, knowing she was being dumb. "I just... I know you said you don't blame me, and I'm glad about that, but I guess _I'm_ still blaming me. I can't help it."

"Well, then that's the part where you're dumb, okay?" said Jess firmly, causing a look of shock to pass over Rory' face. "I know, the great Rory Gilmore is capable of being dumb, who knew? But you are if you think any of this is your fault," he said, gesturing to his arm in the cast and the covered wound on his forehead. "It's not. Hell, if you listen to this town it's all my own stupid fault," he smirked, but there was no humour in that look.

Rory couldn't believe there were people who really thought that. A car accident caused by something identified running out into the road, that made her swerve, and Jess be injured. From these facts, some of the residents of Stars Hollow seriously thought they could make the whole thing Jess' fault? Rory was in awe of that kind of stupidity amongst the townsfolk, and sickened by the fact that they had been so tactless as to let Jess know their feelings. Still, there was no way for her to be surprised by what he was telling her. She already heard Babette and Miss Patty talking in terms of sweet little Rory being corrupted by the town hoodlum, how Jess' injuries were pretty much what he had coming. She was sure deep down they didn't mean to be so spiteful, it was just gossip, and they were trying to think the best of her, which Rory figured should be a good thing. It wasn't though, not when they were wrong, not when they were trying to make a bad guy out of Jess. Sure, he had his troublesome side, but he was a good person really, her friend, her... well, her friend certainly. Beyond that Rory wasn't sure yet.

"So, that zoning out thing we were talking about..." Jess said with a smirk, shifting his hand where it was under hers still to get her full attention. "Welcome back to reality."

"It's not fair," she told him, not smiling back at all. "They can't blame you for this."

"It doesn't matter," he assured her. "Now what do you want to eat because..."

"No!" she insisted, shaking her head crossly. "No, you can't just sweep this under the rug and act like it's okay. It's not. You got hurt in an accident, and maybe I'm not exactly to blame, not entirely, but more than you. You did nothing. You sat in a car that crashed and you got hurt!"

Her voice was rising in volume and octave both. Jess put his hands towards her, trying for a placating gesture, opening his mouth to tell her to calm down already, but there was no stopping her. Rory hopped off her stool almost sending it flying with the sudden movement. She turned to look at all the patrons of the diner, some already startled by her sudden yelling and such.

"Does anybody here have anything to say about our car accident?" she asked in general.

"Rory..." Jess tried to get her attention, but she didn't listen.

"Come on! Apparently everybody has an opinion, so let's hear them!" she insisted. "Taylor, you always have something mean to say, or Kirk, I'll bet you have thoughts on this, right?"

Kirk sat mutely at his table, jaw working but no words coming out. He hated confrontation, and he certainly hadn't expected such a thing from Rory Gilmore of all people.

"Well, er... I'm just glad everybody is okay," said Taylor awkwardly.

"Really? You're glad everybody is okay?" she countered. "Well, you know what? Everybody is _not_ okay. Jess could've died, I guess I could have too, but he came closer. He has a broken arm and a head injury, neither of which are his fault. That crash probably wasn't anybody's fault, but if it were, you would have to blame the driver, and that was me," she said definitely, slamming her pointer finger into her own chest. "My car, my swerve, my fault!" she said loudly, just starting to waver by the end as the emotion of it all overtook her one more time. "And while we're on the topic of things that are _my_ fault, me and Dean broke up yesterday, just so you all know that!"

"Rory, come on."

She hadn't realised Jess had moved out from the counter until he appeared beside her, speaking in soft comforting tones as he put a hand to her shoulder. She turned to look at him and felt the tears streak down her face. She hadn't known she was crying until then.

"I... I'm sorry," she said softly.

Jess shook his head to signal that it didn't matter, tugged on her arm and tilted his head towards the curtain. She followed out of instinct and momentum more than anything else, barely even hearing as Jess called for Caesar to hold the fort until Luke got back from the suppliers. Rory followed her friend up the stairs to the apartment, and by the time they got there was completely blinded by tears.

"I can't believe I did that," she choked out, almost laughing even as she cried.

"Me either," Jess admitted, looking around for a box of tissue or something.

When he came up empty on that one, he just grabbed the roll of kitchen paper from the counter and tore off a couple of sheets. He brought them to Rory and she genuinely did laugh when she realised what he had given her.

"Thanks," she coughed a little before blowing her nose.

"You feel better now?" he asked, tilting his head, trying to better see if she looked like she was crying any more or not.

"Kind of, I guess," she shrugged, cleaning up her face a little.

She was red and blotchy from the anger and tears, and yet her eyes still sparkled, she was still just as beautiful. Jess felt like such a sap for even thinking these things but it didn't mean they weren't true. His hand came up on automatic to put loose strands of hair back behind her ear. Rory was pretty sure she stopped breathing at the contact but somehow she never wanted it to end anyway. For the briefest moment she actually thought maybe Jess was going to kiss her. It was painfully disappointing when he didn't.

The truth was, he thought about it. Kissing Rory was something he thought about a lot, and it wouldn't exactly be a wrong move. She was broken up with Dean, she told him as much this morning, and after all, she had kissed him herself just yesterday. The fact was, for all that he had a terrible reputation in this town, Jess wasn't a complete ass. Kissing a girl who was crying like that and obviously upset, that was taking advantage, no matter how small the scale, and that was something Jess Mariano didn't do.

"Er, thanks, for what you said down there, about the crash," he told her, taking a single step back, running his hand through his own hair so it had something else to do. "I mean, you didn't have to, but thanks anyway."

"They needed to be told," she shrugged like it was nothing. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Stars Hollow, but sometimes this place is just... I just want to scream and run away from it all, just for a day."

Jess nodded along. He knew that feeling, and way better than Rory did. The place had grown on him these past few months, no doubt about it, but running screaming for the nearest exit still appealed more often than not. It was then that a thought struck Jess and a smile came to his lips that he couldn't shift.

"So, you wanna get out of this place for a while?"

Rory started at the suggestion, and he realised he had worded it badly.

"Not now, I mean, Luke would have a fit and you probably have studying you insist on doing or whatever," he teased her gently. "How about Saturday?"

"Well, where would we go?" asked Rory, sniffing a little still.

"I don't know, wherever," he shrugged. "Just out of Stars Hollow, away from these people, just for a day. Tell me that doesn't sound good?" he challenged her, knowing she couldn't do it.

"It does sound good," said Rory, an admission that was accompanied by a small smile that Jess was only too glad to witness. "But I don't have a car anymore..."

"So we'll get on a bus," he cut in fast before she had a chance to elaborate and upset herself again. "We'll go to the station, pick one at random and just go. C'mon, Rory, say yes," he urged her, closing the gap between them that he had deliberately widened just moments before.

Rory loved the chance he was giving her, the offer to get out of this place for a whole day. It would be just her and Jess, and that was exciting and terrifying all at once. She was single now and they both knew it. She had kissed him before and now he was offering to take her out. It wasn't explicitly stated to be a date, but it could be. This was jumping into something with Jess. If she said yes, anything could happen.

"Yes," she said without too much further thought, a wide grin coming over her face mirroring the one he wore.

"Cool."

* * *

"Hey," Lorelai smiled as she neared the diner and saw Luke getting out of his truck. "How's the patient?" she asked, tilting her head towards the building.

"Jess is doing much better, thank you for asking," he smiled at her. "In fact, he's talking about going back to school tomorrow."

"Wow, that bump on the head really knocked some sense in if he's actually wanting to go back, huh?" she said with just hint of sarcasm.

Luke rolled his eyes.

"I might've pulled a little reverse psychology," he admitted, leaning in close to whisper to her. "I figured if I keep him inside, won't even let him go as far as the store, eventually he'll beg me to let him go to school just to get out of the building. It's working."

"Oooh, sneaky!" Lorelai declared as they walked up to the diner door together. "I love it."

"I thought you would," he chuckled as they went inside.

The smile slid off Luke's face entirely when he realised Caesar was running around the very busy diner all by himself. Jess was nowhere to be seen.

"Caesar?" he called to him. "Where is my nephew?" he asked, caught between annoyance that he had abandoned the counter and worry that Jess was feeling sick or something.

"Upstairs with Rory," he answered as he ran by with another couple plates of food.

Lorelai's eyes widened a little at that admission. She knew how her daughter felt about Jess and vice versa. Not that she didn't trust her own kid to be sensible, but two teenagers who liked each other a lot, alone and upstairs; none of that sat well with a concerned mother.

"I didn't say anything," said Kirk out of the blue. "Taylor did, but I was silent throughout the whole thing."

"What whole thing, Kirk?" asked Luke menacingly.

"Taylor?" Lorelai prompted when they got no joy from the younger man.

"Lorelai, I know your daughter has been though a traumatic experience of late, but that is no excuse for..."

"Can it, Taylor!" said Jess as he appeared from the back with Rory right behind him.

That certainly got some attention from the patrons of Luke's Diner. Lorelai tried her best not to smile. Luke narrowed his eyes at Jess.

"What is going on here?" he asked, looking past his nephew then to a red-faced Rory.

"Honey? Have you been crying?" asked Lorelai, moving towards her daughter.

"I'm fine now, I just... I upset myself over the accident and everything. I'm sorry."

"Okay, well, let's go home and we'll talk about it," her mother said, putting an arm around Rory's shoulders and leading her out.

Luke watched them go, turning right after to find Taylor's face too close to his own.

"Are you going to allow that hoodlum nephew of yours to talk to me..."

"Can it, Taylor!" said Luke this time, with just as much attitude as Jess had done. "Whatever's bothering you, I don't care. I care about my nephew and I care about Rory, but you? Couldn't care less," he said definitely.

When he turned to walk away, leaving a babbling Taylor in his wake, all Jess could do was stand and smirk in triumph. Yeah, his uncle Luke cared about him, and they never even needed words to say it.

_To Be Continued..._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you soooo much for all the lovely feedback so far. This chapter is most of The Rory & Jess Road Trip, which will have to continue in the next one, because this started to run long as it was. Anywho, hopefully you like :)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Chapter 8

They had agreed to meet at the bus station. Jess managed to arrive almost a half hour early, but he mostly blamed Luke for that. The man could really make a big deal when he wanted to, and though Jess was flattered that both his health and his love life meant so much to his uncle, it was a little weird. Luke asked him about six times if he was sure he felt up to spending a whole day out of the house. He checked he didn't have a headache or feel at all woozy, he fed him breakfast and wouldn't let him leave the counter until every bite was swallowed down. He even went so far as to give him a bottle of Advil to bring with him on his trip. Jess almost made a joke about pushing drugs on him until he realised how serious Luke was looking at him, and that there was a twenty dollar bill in his hand as well as the pills.

"You and Rory have a good time, okay?" he said with a smile. "You deserve it, both of you."

Jess had nodded, muttered his thanks, and made a hasty exit. It was still weird having somebody that genuinely cared about him. Actually he seemed to have more than one person. Lorelai was being oddly concerned for his health, but then Jess supposed she felt obliged in her own way. Her daughter was driving when he got hurt and stepped out of that car without a scratch. Maybe she was just trying to avoid a law suit, though Jess couldn't imagine even Lorelai thinking so low of him as to assume he would hurt Rory that way. She was the one that yelled at him over the bracelet he stole, she had to know how he felt, how he was falling so hard...

"Hey," said Rory, a smile on her face and a bounce in her step as she arrived at his side, cutting off any and all thought processes Jess was having before that moment.

"Hey," he replied with a smirk. "You bring the kitchen sink too?" he asked, eyeing the seemingly stuffed tote bag on Rory's shoulder.

"It's not that much stuff," she rolled her eyes. "But I didn't know where we were going or what we were doing, so I packed for all occasions."

Jess thought about his own packing for this trip and almost laughed. He had the money Luke gave him and more besides in one back pocket, a paperback jammed into the other, plus his keys, a pair of sunglasses, the painkillers, and a pack of cigarettes in his jacket. That was it, everything he had bought. Rory seemed to have packed for an entire weekend trip across the state or something.

"I like to be prepared," she defended her bag, hefting the strap further onto her shoulder. "And you'll be glad later when you're hungry or thirsty or require first aid."

"Spoken like a true girl scout," he saluted with the wrong fingers, laughing when Rory slapped him in the chest for his trouble.

They started walking then, over to the board that told of all incoming and outgoing buses. Stood together, they looked up at their options. Any minute now there would be busses arriving ready to transport folks to Hartford, Woodbridge, even New York. Rory wasn't sure what to say.

Jess let his eyes linger too long on the furthest destination available. New York was home in its way, where he was born and raised, and as much as he would like to show it to Rory, today didn't feel like the right time. As much as she wanted to be adventurous, her big bag of safety proved that her heart wasn't really in it, at least not for this particular trip.

"So, you wanna go for Hartford?" he offered, honestly not really caring where he was right now, so long as it was out of Stars Hollow and still with her.

"I go there all the time," she sighed. "For school, for Friday night dinner... How about Woodbridge?"

"Sure," Jess nodded. "Works for me."

They headed for the correct spot to wait for the bus and it arrived within moments. Jess ushered Rory on first, and soon they were taking their seats, her by the window and him on the aisle. There they sat in the most comfortable silence either of them had ever known, and it felt good.

* * *

"So, how was it going back to school?" asked Rory as she and Jess headed down some unknown street into the centre of Woodbridge.

They hadn't seen much of each other in the last few days. Just in passing at the diner when Rory went in with her mom for breakfast or dinner. Jess was either working and or upstairs when they came around. Luke had said he was doing fine, and though Rory had offered her services with waitressing or homework help, neither had been an issue. She wasn't offended to not get to help, just glad that Jess was okay enough that he didn't need her to.

"Fine, I guess," Jess shrugged in answer to her question. "I can actually read without feeling like a guy is hitting the inside of my skull with a hammer now, so there's that," he smiled.

Rory smiled back, eyeing the sticking plaster still over Jess' left eye. It was a lot better than the bandages and such he had on there before, the much smaller dressing almost managing to blend in with his skin, but not quite. She wondered how it would look when she actually saw the wound that existed under here. She wanted to ask what the doctor said when he had his check the day before but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"What?" he asked when he caught her staring at him strangely.

"I, er... Well, it must be getting better," she gestured to the spot on her own forehead that matched his injury. "There's a lot less dressing stuck to it so..."

"Yeah, it's healing pretty good," he agreed. "Doc says I might have a cool looking scar though. Chicks digs scars, right?" he smirked.

"I guess," said Rory awkwardly, knowing she was blushing just from the way he was looking at her, but somehow with him she couldn't help it.

"Well, the cast comes off my arm in a week and they'll check my head then. Should be back to normal pretty soon."

"That's good," Rory agreed, though she couldn't seem to look at him anymore. "So, now we're here, what are we doing?"

"I don't know, what do you wanna do?" he checked, looking around to see what options they had. "We got a movie theatre, a pet store, a diner, a book store, a disturbing amount of clothing stores..." he rattled off as he checked out both sides of the street they were standing on.

Rory didn't even need to weigh the options and turned to meet his eyes with a grin on her lips that told him exactly what her thoughts were.

"Book store," they said as one, both laughing right after.

* * *

"Seriously, Rory, did you leave any books in the store?" asked Jess as they exited the obviously named Woodbridge Books with their purchases.

"I can't help myself sometimes!" she declared, struggling still to make her tote hold all the volumes she simply had to have. "It's not like you're much better."

Jess had a plastic sack from the store dangling from his own fingers with half a dozen books he couldn't do without, so he really ought to cut her some slack, but he never met anyone quite like Rory when it came to books. She loved literature as much as he did, and not just sappy romance novels or whatever teenage girls were usually into, she liked the stuff he liked, or at least had enough sense to understand why he was into it even if she wasn't herself. They gave each other recommendations as they moved around the store, sitting amongst the stacks to read back covers and sample first chapters for what felt like hours. Given that it was close to midday, maybe it really had been that long. Jess didn't care, he was having the best time so far.

"So, we should find some place to eat lunch," he said thoughtfully. "I'm not exactly starved, but I know how important is to keep you Gilmores fed," he smirked.

"One step ahead of you," she said, grabbing his sleeve and pulling.

Jess was a little surprised but he didn't argue. Rory checked for traffic then dodged across the street, still dragging him with her. She swung through the gates to a pretty little park and Jess followed without question. He did laugh though when suddenly she produced a picnic blanket from her bag and flung it out on the grass. A couple of her precious books came tumbling out too and Jess nobly dived to save them. They landed on the blanket together, him wincing slightly when he jarred his injured arm.

"You okay?" she checked.

"Yeah. The cast pinches more than the fracture hurts," he confessed. "So, I'm assuming there's food to go with the perfect picnic spot?" he asked then.

"Yes, and I promise I didn't make any of it," she confirmed, recalling their previous almost-picnic on the bridge in Stars Hollow following the Bid-A-Basket auction.

"Never been so relieved in my entire life," he dead-panned as Rory pulled pre-prepared sandwiches, potato chips and the like from her bag.

Now Jess understood why said bag was so big and full. Rory hadn't brought he kitchen sink as he had suggested before but half of Doose's ready to eat food by the seem of things. Everything from Twinkies to Mallowmars came out of that bag, plus bottles of soda. She had really been carrying some weight around, especially when she added the books she just bought. Jess would've been impressed if he wasn't already adjusting to this girl surprising him at every turn.

"You're staring," she commented, as she laid out all the packets. "It's just food, it's not a big deal."

Jess kept on watching her a moment then deliberately averted his eyes. It wasn't fair to make her too uncomfortable when she was doing so much to be nice to him and everything. They were getting on so well here, he hoped nothing screwed it up. Of course, the most likely factor that would do that was Jess himself. He wasn't great at doing the right thing, with anybody, not just girls. Rory was so different, so special. He didn't know where to begin.

They sat and ate in relative silence. It was that comfortable kind again so it was no problem. Rory started flipping through one of the books she had bought as she chewed thoughtfully on a candy bar. Jess took it as a sign he could do the same without worrying he was being rude or whatever. There they sat, for maybe an hour or more, just enjoying the sunshine and a chance to get into a new novel for a while.

Jess didn't realise that Rory wasn't entirely reading anymore. She kept casting glances over the top of her book, watching her friend as he devoured page after page of some book about the history of punk. He barely looked like he was concentrating at all, but he was so into what he was reading, so beautiful... Rory started a little at her own thought process, and must have made a sound in doing so because suddenly Jess looked up at her from his position practically lying before her.

"What?"

"Nothing, I... Um, well..." she floundered a little, eyes shifting to her bag as she thought of something. "One of the books I bought at the store, it was actually for you."

It wasn't a lie or just an excuse for something to say, it was actually the truth. She really had got a book that she meant to hand to Jess the moment they were out of the store, but she had lost her nerve at the last and shoved it into her bag with the rest. He looked intrigued by her confession now, pulling himself up to sit cross-legged as she was.

"Why?" he asked, and Rory blushed as she dug into her bag, handing over the book as an answer to his question.

Jess smiled widely as he realised what it was.

"Oliver Twist," he read the title.

"I know you probably already have a copy," she rolled her eyes at how dumb she was being right now and probably in the moment when she thought buying this for him was a decent plan. "But I saw it and I thought I just had to get it for you, Dodger."

"Thanks," he told her too softly.

This was weird for Jess. He really didn't get gifts as a rule. Liz did Christmas sometimes, occasionally his birthday when she was sober enough to remember when that was, but he never got anything exciting or that meant anything. This was Rory actually thinking of something significant, not just a random gift, but a book that meant something real to the both of them. It was a symbol of the day they first met, when this ever-evolving friendship started. He just couldn't stop smiling about it.

"I know when I called you that the first time it wasn't exactly flattering, and you only stole from me that one time, not like you make a habit of it, but... Jess?"

Rory stopped her rambling explanation when she realised his expression had shifted dramatically from wide and grateful smile to a deep frown. There was a moment when she considered asking if he was in pain, if it was some latent symptom bubbling up from his head injury. She knew she was wrong when he took a breath and told her what the real problem was.

"It wasn't," he said vaguely. "The book on that first day, it wasn't the only time I stole from you."

Jess wasn't entirely sure why he was doing this. Maybe because relationships couldn't be built on anything but trust, maybe because he had a bump on the head recently and it was making him act like a fool. Maybe it was just the way Rory Gilmore's eyes matched the blue sky over their heads and even the sun couldn't outshine her smile.

"I don't understand," she told him honestly. "Did you take another book or...?"

"Your bracelet," he said fast, forcing himself to look at her then. "Er, it was at the bridge, that day I won your basket?" he explained. "You got up to leave and when I went to follow you I realised you dropped your bracelet. I had no idea you got it from Dean, I swear, Rory, if I knew how upset you were gonna get I would've handed it straight back but... I don't know, I just put it in my pocket and I kept it."

"But it was in my room," she shook her head. "I lost it and then it turned up in my room. You were the one that told me to look there... Oh, God. Because you put it there!" she gasped with sudden realisation.

Jess winced at the unimpressed look that registered on her face and the tone of her voice that matched it.

"I'm sorry," he said honestly. "Rory, c'mon, you gotta believe me. If I'd known what it meant to you, I never would've done that. I just... It was a piece of you. I wanted to know I had something, if I was never going to have anything else..."

He was so awkward, practically squirming under her gaze. Rory would say she had never seen him look like that before, but she had once. The morning after he brought her the care package of food and she figured out it had been all his idea, not Luke's thoughtfulness at all. Jess squirming had been entertaining before, now it was almost daunting. He liked her that much. He wanted her bracelet because he thought maybe that was as close as he would ever get. It made Rory want to squirm too, awkward as she was flattered by the revelation. She couldn't talk to him about it, couldn't even manage to say it was okay now because she was over it, even though it was the truth. She just needed to move past this moment, get back to the beautiful day they had been sharing up to now.

"So, what next?" she asked, beginning to repack her bag and gather up the trash to throw away too. "Um, we passed a movie theatre, right? Anything you wanna see?"

Jess wasn't sure what to make of her sudden subject change. She couldn't be so mad that she wouldn't even talk to him about the theft. Rory wouldn't be inviting him to a movie if she was angry, that wasn't her style at all. A voice in Jess' head said he should make sure she accepted his apology, and yet another told him that was dumb. If things were the other way around, he wouldn't want her to go on and on about something that way. He let it go.

"You pick the movie, I'll pay," he told her. "I mean, you got me the book, you bought lunch and everything, it's only fair," he shrugged, offering up a smile and glad to see her return the expression.

"You might regret letting me make a choice like that," she smirked, not quite as well as he would've done, but that was okay.

"I already know you're not really the chick flick type, so I think I'm safe."

Rory picked up her bag and stood, reaching down to help Jess up off the ground. It wasn't easy for him with his arm still in the cast, she supposed, and so he let her help. He pulled the blanket up off the grass and roughly folded it before helping her stuff it back into her bag. Now he knew why she needed to bring so much gear on a simple trip out of town. She really was something.

They headed over to the movie theatre down the street. It was only when they got there that they realised they certainly were not going to see anything new. Apparently, during the day, the Woodbridge theatre showed a bunch of old favourites, which made sense when most people were working and kids were at school. Jess wasn't against older movies, depending on what they were. Right now, he couldn't care less what Rory chose to see. He was just glad to be here with her.

"Oh my God, look!" she gasped, pointing at one particular movie in the listing.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's? Really?" he checked he was looking at the right title.

"It's so beautiful, when Audrey Hepburn sings Moon River, and the ending in the rain!" she enthused, practically bouncing in place.

Jess rolled his eyes at her behaviour and then walked over to the door and opened it for her. Rory smiled widely.

"Well, thank you, kind sir," she teased as she went inside and Jess followed, dutifully heading for the counter and asking for two tickets to Breakfast at Tiffany's.

It occurred to Jess that he had to be crazy, wanting to spend his Saturday afternoon watching an old Audrey Hepburn movie with a girl he wasn't even dating. He was whipped before they even began, and yet, he just couldn't seem to mind.

_To Be Continued..._


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Time to finish off Rory & Jess' day of fun! This chapter isn't the longest, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it ;) Thanks for all the reviews on the previous chapter!**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see Chapter 1)**_

Chapter 9

It had been kind of a crazy day. Jess wasn't sure how else to describe it. He sure never had another day that had been anything like this, not his whole life. Rory made the difference. She made his life in Connecticut bearable. Granted, there was Luke too, and he was doing his best to be a good guardian and help Jess however he could, but Rory was something else. She was beautiful, intelligent, the perfect mixture of all the best qualities and very little that Jess didn't find adorable and amazing. He never knew a girl like her before and felt he never would again.

Falling in love, it wasn't something Jess ever imagined would happen to him, and certainly not when he got shipped out of New York by his mother. All his experience of relationships came from watching his mother, and first hand from girls that had reputations that would make Rory blush just from the mere mention. Liz picked up loser after loser, allowed them into her bed and their lives without a moments pause, suddenly deciding she was in love. Some of these guys she married, others weren't around long enough, but all Jess could think as he watched these losers come and go was that it couldn't be love. Black eyes, cigarette burns, and dirty habits, that wasn't how it read in books.

Jess wasn't so naive, even as a child, to believe that everything he read was based in reality, but he did know there had to be something better. As a young teen, any girls that wanted him were after a release or someone as dark as they felt themselves. Jess hadn't cared either way then, a year ago, two, more. Now he had met Rory, and she was what the books talked about, she was the other half to him, the pieces he was missing somehow. He never told her any of this, and he probably never would, but he knew it already. For the longest time, he never really expected her to feel the same, but now she had broken up with Dean, she was buying him presents, they were spending the day together. Maybe somehow she was feeling it too.

"That was beautiful," she said as the movie came to a close, the credits rolling and the lights coming back up. "You cannot tell me that wasn't beautiful."

She looked at Jess and he fought to find an answer to her question. He wasn't listening, he really hadn't seen most of the movie. Jess only had eyes for Rory and found it much more entertaining to see her reactions to the scenes before her than to actually watch Hepburn and Peppard on the big screen. Still, he had heard what she just said enough to give an honest answer.

"Yeah, beautiful," he said vaguely.

Even if his comment was based on what he was looking at rather than what she referred to, Rory didn't have to know. In fact, it was safer if she didn't right now.

They exited the movie theatre, Rory still talking excitedly about the movie and finishing off her box of Red Vines. Jess was still in awe of how much she could eat all in one day, but he didn't comment on it, not this time.

It was his being so quiet that started to make Rory self-conscious. She wondered if she was just talking too much, making Jess feel like there wasn't room for his own thoughts and opinions in the conversation. At the same time, she knew he had a habit of going non-verbal when anything serious was going on in his head.

"You okay?" she asked after a while as they walked aimlessly through town.

"Sure, yeah," he nodded. "So anywhere else you wanna go before we head home?" he asked then. "I'm guessing you planned to be back in Stars Hollow before dark."

"Definitely," she nodded once. "My Mom would probably freak out a little if I wasn't."

Jess nodded too because he understood that. Maybe Lorelai wouldn't be so quick to need her baby home in daylight if she was out with Lane or some other girlfriend, probably not even Dean, but this was different. Jess knew that Lorelai didn't have a great opinion of him.

"It's not you," said Rory, as if she read the thoughts clean out of his head. "I mean, it would be the same no matter who I was out with, though you being a guy probably swings the balance... I don't know," she blushed as Rory was prone to do when she mentioned anything even remotely embarrassing. "She really doesn't hate you or anything, even if it seemed that way for a while. She was as worried as I was when you were in the hospital."

"Really?" Jess checked with a smirk he couldn't help. "Your Mom was worried about me?"

"Of course. I know some people are harsh, Jess, but my Mom... well, she's a pretty amazing person. She doesn't usually judge, she just... she worries about me, and I was dating Dean when you came along, and... it's not that I ever said anything about you and me being closer than friends, because we weren't and I think..."

"Rory," he silenced her with a word, his hand at her shoulder to turn her towards him.

The next thing she knew Jess' lips were on hers in a sweet kiss that wasn't half so intense as she was expecting and was over before it hardly started.

"What was...?" she began to ask.

"Sometimes you think too much," he told her seriously, before his usual smirk broke through.

That seemed to be all the explanation he was going to give, and Rory wasn't sure how to take it. She couldn't really believe that Jess would only kiss her because he wanted her to be quiet or stop over-thinking. He was straight-forward that way, he would just say 'shut up' or 'calm down' if that was what he meant. He liked her, she knew that, and she liked him. They had kissed before, but Rory had initiated that herself, and still wanted to blush every time she thought of it. The easiest thing in the world would be to ask Jess what he really meant by that kiss, but somehow she just couldn't.

"Um... Oh, look. Music store!" she exclaimed suddenly, looking up past Jess' face to the building beyond. "We should go inside, see what they have. I'll bet it's great."

She rushed in through the door and Jess watched her go for a moment, still with that same smirk on his face that he couldn't control. He kind of liked the fact he got the chance to give Rory a taste of her own medicine. Maybe that was a nasty way to phrase it, but when she kissed him the other day, all out of the blue, and than ran away, it was confusing to say the least. He was sort of waiting for a chance to ask her about it, but that seemed like such a lame thing to do. Instead, he took some initiative, hence the kiss he laid on her just now. The fact she didn't slap him, yell at him, or run away was a positive sign. The fact she could barely look at him after might just be a better one.

Wandering into the music store behind Rory, Jess tried to get the stupid grin off his face and act natural. It didn't come all that easy.

* * *

Rory was half asleep on Jess' shoulder when the bus pulled into the station at Stars Hollow. He didn't mind at all, and it almost seemed a shame to move her, but he must. So much for getting home before dark, the sun had started descending before they ever left the record store in Woodbridge, and they hadn't noticed for the longest time. Just as soon as Rory had clued into how late it was, she rushed to make her purchases and encouraged Jess to follow her quickly towards the nearest bus home. Still, it had been a great day, more fun than Jess had experienced in a long time and he hoped Rory would say the same, he couldn't imagine a reason why she wouldn't.

"Hey, sleepy head," he smiled, jostling her shoulder.

"Huh?" she checked, coming to slowly. "Jess?"

"Yeah, we're home," he confirmed as she brought her head up off his shoulder, still yawning.

"Oh, excuse me," she blushed a pretty pink, like always. "It's been a really great day," she told him then, though her eyes were fixed on her town out of the window when she made that confession.

"It really has," Jess agreed.

They disembarked as soon as the bus stopped moving, walking back towards town side by side without saying another word. The comfortableness of their silences was not lost on Rory, any more than it had been on Jess. She loved that they could just hang out reading or whatever and never feel pressured to make conversation. Of course, sometimes they wanted to talk and on those occasions they had so much in common to choose from. It was fun just being with Jess, Rory knew that from the day he first arrived in Stars Hollow. Somehow she doubted she would ever regret standing up for him and becoming his friend.

They headed further into town, making a turn that would mean they hit Rory's house before the diner. It hadn't been a conscious decision on her part, but she wondered if Jess had steered them that way on purpose when she wasn't paying attention, letting out the gentlemanly side she was sure not many had ever seen. Walking her home, it made this day ever more date-like and Rory wasn't sure what to do with that. Nothing was official, nothing had been explicitly stated about them being any more than friends, and yet Jess had kissed her today, and she had initiated a similar moment a few days ago. That had to mean something to him, it certainly meant something to her.

"I actually think you've come home with more stuff that you had when we left," Jess smirked at Rory's over-filled bag that he had picked up when they left the bus and carried without explanation or fuss.

"Maybe," she agreed. "But it's fine. I haven't really shopped for books like that in a while, and the record for my mom was too perfect not to get. It'll make such a great graduation gift" she smiled. "Thank you again for lending me the money. I will get it back to you, I promise."

"It's no big deal," he promised her, unsure how anyone could make such a fuss over the measly five bucks she was short when she bought the Go Go's album signed by Belinda. "Hey, just tell her the gift is from both of us. See if her head spins around and explodes," he smirked wickedly.

"Stop it!" Rory told him, though she did giggle into her words. "My mom does not hate you, okay? She doesn't."

Jess let it go because he knew that was probably true. He wasn't convinced Lorelai really liked him a whole lot, but hate was a strong word and he hadn't entirely earnt that much disgust. There first real conversation had turned a little nasty, but he thought he was at least partially justified there. The bracelet thing was pretty bad in her eyes, but maybe even that wouldn't be such a black mark against his character when Rory told her about his confession. The pulling pranks and winding up Forester, yeah, he was guilty there too, but if that was all Lorelai was basing her dirty looks on, Jess thought that was a little crazy. She sure was giving him a lot more smiles since the accident though.

"So," he said as they reached her house.

"So," she echoed just the same. "Thank you, Jess, for a really great day. I'm glad we did this, it was genuinely fun."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, shifting his feet. "I did too, and not just because I didn't have to see Taylor or Kirk or any of the other freaks in this town."

Rory laughed at his semi-joke, looking as awkward as Jess felt, she was sure. It was pretty clear that she just needed to turn away, walk down the drive way to her house and go inside. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to convince her feet to carry her there. She was stuck to this spot, waiting for something she dare not think about for fear of blushing more fiercely than she ever had before.

Jess was having the same problem. He never had trouble with girls before, never had to think too much about what he was doing because those he'd known were eager, easy, and meant little or nothing to him. Rory was so different, in every way he could think of, and way too special to mess around or screw up with. He couldn't move until she did, and so they both seemed doomed to stand on this spot forever.

"Goodnight, Jess," she said eventually, suddenly closer than she had been before.

"Goodnight, Rory," he replied, leaning in some more, waiting to see what she did rather than planning his own move.

It wasn't really clear who made it happen in the end, but in a moment their lips met in a sweet kiss that neither could stand to break. Rory's hand slid up behind Jess' neck, holding him close, as his arm snaked around her waist for the same reason. The kiss deepened, the moment going on and on, until eventually they both felt the need to breathe.

Rory was smiling when they parted, glad to see the expression mirrored on Jess' face. It felt right and so very good to kiss him like that, to have him hold her and kiss back with equal fervour. This was going to work, or so she believed. Even if she was wrong, Rory was ready to try it and see where they ended up.

"I have to go now," she said, as if sorry to do so.

Jess just nodded, realising her from his grip. He handed over her bag then shoved his hands into his pockets so he wasn't tempted to reach for her again. Now wasn't the time. It was late, Lorelai would be worried, probably Luke too. They needed to part, just for now, before it became impossible.

He watched Rory walk all the way up onto her porch and let herself in the front door before turning away to make his own way home. It was actually weird how much the diner and it's apartment really did feel like a home these days. Luke would probably complain that Jess was home so late and question him on where he'd been, what he'd done, did he treat Rory right, and so on. Jess would act like he was pissed about being questioned, but deep down they both knew Luke only made such a big deal because he cared, and honestly, Jess kind of loved knowing that, even if he would never say so.

_To Be Continued..._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you, wonderful reviewer peops! You make me giddy and smiley :) A little Lorelai/Luke development in this chapter (though I'm not planning full on romance for them in this story) and of course the main attraction - the Literati is a go! ;)**

Chapter 10

"Hey, we don't usually see you much on a Sunday, especially not this early," said Luke as Lorelai came rushing up to the counter. "Not that I'm complaining," he smiled amiably, though she didn't seem all that aware.

"Nasty experience!" she shook her head as she hopped up onto a stool. "Only the best coffee will do. That means your coffee, my friend," she said definitely.

Luke felt a little stupid for feeling entirely flattered that his coffee was the only cure for Lorelai's greatest ills. He'd take what he could get where she was concerned, however sad it may seem to anybody else. Turning away a moment he grabbed the coffee pot and poured a large dose for his favourite crazy lady.

"You're a magician, a saint, my hero!" said Lorelai, taking a long gulp from the cup. "They should erect a statue, write a song!" she declared, before going right on back to drinking her coffee.

"I think that might be what is called overkill," Luke said thoughtfully. "So what happened that was so awful nothing but my magical coffee would fix it? You didn't fight with Rory did you?" he asked, as Lorelai drained her cup and pushed it at him to be refilled.

"No, Rory's fine. Studying, would you believe," she rolled her eyes. "My mother called me," she shuddered then.

"Ah, the Emily Gilmore effect," said Luke knowingly.

He only ever met the woman once that he recalled, but all of Lorelai's stories about the delightful person that was her mother had Luke knowing just how unbearable she could be. Most of her wrath seemed to be constantly thrown at her daughter and poor Lorelai didn't always help herself. Still, by definition of being her friend, Luke was on her side and would sympathise accordingly as and when Lorelai chose to explain. Two large sips from her second cup of coffee in as many minutes got her going into full flow.

"It was actually crazy!" she said too loudly and complete with waving hands. "Y'know, Christopher called the other day, one of his usual checking in, seeing how things are going calls? He talked to Rory for a bit and then to me, and the car crash came up. He asked why I hadn't told him about it before and of course I said that I would have if there was something to tell. I mean, Rory was fine, and it's not like he even knew that Rory had a car or had a clue who Jess was, so it really wasn't worth reporting."

"Makes sense," Luke nodded along, even though he couldn't figure out for the life of him what any of this had to do with Emily Gilmore.

"Right, exactly. So he calmed down, told me next time could I please inform him of things like that, even if Rory is fine. I promised I would, though obviously we're all hoping for no more similar accidents," she went on. "Then this morning, when I've been out of my bed for all of thirty minutes, my mother calls me, and I get a forty five minute lecture on what I should and shouldn't be telling her. Apparently she talked to Chris at some point and he mentioned the accident, which she hadn't heard about from us, it was crazy!"

"You didn't tell your parents about the crash? Not at Friday night dinner?" Luke checked.

He knew Lorelai kept things from her folks and he didn't judge since it was none of his business, but he was surprised that Rory wouldn't have said anything about it.

"We haven't been to dinner the last couple of weeks," Lorelai shook her head, swallowing down yet more coffee. "Since Dad retired he and Mom have been taking more trips together. They've been out of state the last two weeks or so, so hey, even if I had wanted to report back on what happened to Rory, they weren't there anyway, at least not until yesterday!" she half-yelled in her exasperation. "I swear, I don't know what is wrong with those people, or with Christopher!" she snapped. "I mean, why the hell was he even talking to my parents? They all make me crazy. People just make me crazy!"

"All people?" asked Luke, deliberately teasing her and she could tell by the smile on his face that he was doing it just to calm her down - it worked too.

"Not all people," she smiled right back. "You I like, and Rory, that's about it a not small part of the time," she sighed, blowing loose hair out of her face.

"Well, my list of people to like in this town isn't so long either," admitted Luke, leaning on the counter as he talked to her. "It's pretty much you, Rory, and Jess, so..."

"Oh, how is Jess?"

"He's doing good. The cast should be coming off his arm at the end of next week, and hopefully the cut on his head will be all healed by then too," he smiled. "Y'know, I think he had a pretty good time yesterday with Rory. Jess isn't exactly the sharing type so when I asked I got the usual grunting and 'whatever', but there was a smile, a rare, almost genuine looking smile."

"Really?" Lorelai shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, Rory has been pretty smiley too, and talkative. Apparently it was a good day those two had."

"You wish they hadn't," said Luke, a statement not a question because he'd known Lorelai long enough to be able to tell when something was up.

"No, it's not that," she told him, feeling so dumb. "I swear, Luke, I'm glad they had a nice time together, I just... And I hate saying this to you, especially after what happened with the car crash and Jess being in the hospital, but he's not exactly... He's just..."

"He's not Dean," said Luke snippily. "Go ahead, you can say it. Jess isn't the kind of guy a mother wants her daughter to bring home. He can be sarcastic and abrupt, moody even. He gels his hair and listens to loud music and gets into trouble for stealing gnomes and chalking bodies on pavements."

"Luke, I don't even care about most of that," Lorelai assured him, reaching out to put her hand on his arm but he stood up straight fast and backed off deliberately. "I swear, the kid might be moody and snappy with everybody else, but he is always sweet with Rory. She's told me and I've seen it too," she explained. "The pranking is kind of an issue, and the stealing, though apparently he apologised for that..."

"What stealing?" asked Luke, clearly confused.

"Rory's bracelet," said Jess suddenly appearing from behind the curtain.

"You stole Rory's bracelet?" his uncle checked, looking entirely unamused.

"Didn't really steal it," he shifted awkwardly. "I just picked it up when she dropped it and... and took my time giving it back is all."

"Well, no real harm done, I guess," said Lorelai with a smile, happy to save the kid who looked guilty for maybe the first time that she had ever witnessed. "You apologised, Rory forgave you. No harm, no foul."

Jess nodded his agreement but didn't say anything else, at least not until he pointed out it was time for his shift. He moved past the adults to bus some tables and Lorelai sighed.

"I'm a bad person," she said, looking back at Luke. "I'm sorry. I'm judging him, and I barely know him. I should trust your opinion, and Rory's opinion... Oh my God!" she gasped suddenly. "I'm turning into my mother!"

The look on her face was too priceless not to get a smirk out of Luke. Sometimes she was just so overly dramatic.

"You are not your mother," he said definitely, leaning over the counter a little again. "And I promise you, if I ever see signs, I'll let you know so you can stop."

Lorelai smiled and thanked him for that kindness before asking for another refill. Though Luke reminded her again that she was going to kill herself was so much coffee, he still filled the cup. There was just no arguing with his favourite crazy woman.

"Speaking of parenting, y'know, you are doing a great job... with Jess," she whispered, mindful of the fact the teen in question was now wandering freely around the diner. "Those pranks we talked about? Haven't heard about any more of those for a while, and the apologising to Rory... Maybe he's settling down?"

"I like to think so," Luke considered, smiling perhaps a little too much at Jess as he passed by into the kitchen with an order some customer wasn't happy with. "I think it helps him to know people around here actually care what happens to him. As much as I love my sister, Liz isn't... well, I'm not sure she's been a great influence on Jess' behaviour, or cared much about what he gets up to."

"I did think it was kind of cold the way she just shipped him out here," Lorelai admitted, mindful of how she spoke about Luke's sister, in spite of what he said himself. "Maybe you're right, maybe knowing we're here for him does help."

"We?" he checked, meeting her eyes.

"Yes, we," she confirmed with a smile. "Like I said, if you and Rory trust him and like him so much, maybe I need to be a little nicer, give the kid a chance."

"Thank you, Lorelai," said Luke the, putting his hand over hers on the counter. "That means a lot to me."

Lorelai couldn't quite explain the feeling she got then, or her sudden inability to speak that was rare in the extreme. A moment later, she was shaking her head and getting back to her coffee, whilst Luke resumed serving his other customers. All was right with the world once again.

* * *

Rory thought she heard a sound and so turned down her music. She had been alone in her room studying and found a little background noise worked wonders when she had a lot of intense reading to do. With the volume decreased she realised what she had heard was a knocking at the front door. Scrambling from her seat she yelled 'coming' and hurried to see who was impatiently waiting on the porch.

"Hey, sweetie," Sookie greeted her as soon as she opened the door. "I came to see your Mom about some wedding stuff, is she here?"

"No, she went to the diner for emergency coffee," Rory explained. "She and Grandma had kind of a phone-call confrontation."

"Ooh, nasty!" her friend sympathised. "Well, I guess I'll catch up to her there. Honestly, I could use a coffee myself. I so want this wedding to happen but busy, busy, busy!" she laughed almost hysterically.

Rory watched Sookie turn to go and then suddenly called her back.

"Um, I... Well, I don't want to add to your stress for the wedding but..."

"What is it, sweetie?" the bride-to-be checked, concerned by the way Rory looked so nervous and jittery.

"Well, you know me and Dean broke up," she said, hugging herself and barely meeting Sookie's gaze. "The thing is, I haven't really talked to him since, and I'm assuming he won't just show up at your wedding without me, so... well, if it's okay with you, I was wondering... Could I ask someone else?"

"Oh," said Sookie thoughtfully. "Well, sure, honey, that'd be fine," she smiled then, leaning in closer to Rory as she whispered. "It's Jess, isn't it?"

The way the teen blushed to the roots of her hair as her eyes went to the ground was answer enough for Sookie. She squealed and bounced in place, clapping her hands like a woman of half her age or less. It was strange, since Rory half-expected he to be more awkward about having Jess at her wedding. Most people really didn't like the guy after all.

"You're sure it's okay?" she double-checked. "I mean, I wanted to ask him, he might say no..."

"Oh, I don't think he'll say no to you!" said Sookie happily. "You're Rory Gilmore, and everybody knows he likes you," she winked. "Besides, I was feeling a little weird about the fact we didn't invite him before. I mean, Luke is coming so, yeah, you ask him, sweetie, and good luck!"

She went off towards the diner then, singing some little ditty about Rory likes Jess and Jess likes Rory. Rory could only hope she stopped before she actually got to Luke's, otherwise things were going to get embarrassing. Still, she couldn't really mind the idea of what Sookie was suggesting. She really did like Jess a lot and he seemed to like her too. Since she broke up with Dean, there was nothing stopping her and Jess being more than friends, and yet Rory wasn't sure how to make that happen. It gave her something serious to think about as she headed back to her studies.

* * *

"No, I have school tomorrow and you have work, we have to pick just _one_ movie," Rory insisted as her Mom suggested trilogies and double-features galore for their impromptu movie night.

"Oooh, the Pride and Prejudice BBC mini-series!" said Lorelai then, holding the video tapes aloft.

"Now you're just being silly on purpose," her daughter complained, hands on her hips as she stared at her.

"Well, I don't hear you coming up with anything better, missy," Lorelai complained, going back to her fruitless search through a large pile of tapes.

Rory knew there were plenty of singular movies down there that they could watch, and yet she had an urge to suggest going to the video store for something else altogether. It wasn't that she was desperate for any particular movie, more that the video store wasn't so very far from the diner.

"Okay, how about you drive us into town, pick up one regular-length movie from the store, and I can swing into Doose's for extra snacks?" she suggested eventually.

Lorelai looked up from her search, considered a moment and then nodded.

"Deal," she agreed, and so they set off.

The Jeep was duly parked in the street outside Taylor's store a few minutes later. Lorelai advised Rory to make it fast and mostly make it chocolate and then headed for the video store.

"Run time of two hours or less!" Rory called after her, even though she knew it was probably pointless.

"That's a weird specification for a movie choice," said a voice.

Rory whirled around so fast she almost knocked herself over.

"Jess! Seriously, that's creepy!" she complained.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly sneaking up on you or anything," he apologised. "Just bringing out the trash," he demonstrated by showing her the black bag in his hand.

"Oh," she replied awkwardly. "Well, I didn't just mean that you appeared out of nowhere, although that was weird, I... well, I actually came into town hoping to see you."

"Oh, yeah?" asked Jess, trying not to smile too much at that confession.

"Yes, I... well, the thing is..." Rory tried three times to begin what she meant to say and every time failed after no more than three or four words. "This is ridiculous!"

"Rory, whatever you have to say to me, just say it," Jess urged her then, hoping it was something good he had been dreading the words 'I'm back with Dean' coming out of her mouth and shattering his heart.

With her eyes closed and a deep breath of cold night air pulled quickly into her lungs, Rory finally said what she came to say.

"Do you want to be my date to Sookie's wedding?"

Jess hadn't quite been ready for that. The truth was he wasn't enamoured with the idea of attending a wedding for some crazy lady he didn't know well and her equally crazy produce-obsessed husband-to-be. It would mean dressing up, being polite to a whole bunch of people he didn't care about, and listening to stupid speeches, he was sure. On the other hand, Rory had just called this event a date, and it would mean spending a lot of time in her company.

"Your date?" he echoed. "Are you asking me out, Miss Gilmore? 'Cause that's awful modern-thinking of you," he teased her.

"Yeah, well, who knows how much of an old maid I'd get to be if I waited for you to ask," she countered, finding a little bravery somewhere deep inside that she hadn't quite known she possessed until he smiled at her that way again.

"If I'd known you were waiting..." he shook his head slightly, though he never finished the sentence. "Yes, Rory. I'll be your date to the wedding, if you really want me to."

"I do," she nodded, the weight of those words not lost on her given they were talking weddings. "Um, so if this is a date..."

"Then I guess we're, y'know, dating now," Jess considered, that familiar smirk on his lips to match the familiar blush in her cheeks. "That work for you?"

"I think so," said Rory, wondering for a moment if he was going to kiss her, almost wishing he would and yet...

"Rory?" her mother's voice called,

Both Rory and Jess spun around to see Lorelai headed towards them and moreover the Jeep. She had a bag from the video store in her hand a look of confusion on her face that quickly faded into amusement and understanding when she saw her daughter with Luke's nephew.

"Got distracted, huh?" she asked Rory, who bit her lip.

"My fault. Sorry," said Jess, looking ready to make a swift getaway.

"Don't worry about it," Lorelai literally waved away his concern with her head. "Er, you two finish your conversation, I'll go get the snacks," she insisted, hurrying into Doose's before anyone could say anything else.

Feeling entirely busted, both Rory and Jess shifted awkwardly in place a moment before finally looking up at the same time and meeting each others eyes. She smiled, he smiled back. They both seemed to shift forward a little at the same time so there was barely a gap between them anymore. Jess gave in first, closing the final few inches of distance and putting his lips to hers. Rory was quick to fall into the moment, even though it didn't last too long. They were both well aware that Lorelai, or even Luke, could appear at any moment. When they parted, what felt like a little too soon, they were both still smiling.

"Well, whatever else happens, I'm pretty sure we're not gonna have a problem in that department," he told her, eyes sparkling.

"Nope, that part definitely works," she agreed.

They went their own separate ways then for the rest of the night. They would see each other tomorrow, and every day after that. It would be impossible not to after what they had just agreed. Rory and Jess were finally and officially dating, and neither could feel anything but happy about that.

_To Be Continued..._


End file.
